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Systematic beneficence

THE

GREAT REFORM.

THE

GREAT R EFOEM

ON THE DUTY AND THE BEST METHOD OF SYSTEM-
ATIC BENEFICENCE IN THE CHURCH.

By ABEL^TEVENS.

Therefore, as ye abound in every thing, in faith, and utterance,
and knowledge, and in all diligence, and in your love to ua, see
that ye abound in this grace also.— 2 Cor. viii, 7.

EIGHTH EDITION.

NEW YORK:
C A 11 J. T O N & i^ A N A H A N .

SAN FliANCISCO: E. THOMAS.
CINCINNATI: HITCHCOCK & WALDEN.

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1856, by
CAELTON & PHILLIPS,

,n the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the Southern District
of New-York.

EDITOR^S PREFACE.

"Whoever reads this book thoroughlj will
understand what is meant bj " The Great
Reform." It is here clearly defined, and
its methods are strikingly indicated. The
author bases his conclusions and appeals so
directly upon divine revelation that we can-
not see how they can be resisted. Certainly,
they will not be by a well-instructed and
purified conscience.

What minister of the Gospel, what official
member, what observing layman, can fail to
be aware that some radical defects exist in
the financial policy of the Church? How
often and how deeply has this been felt
when means have been wanted for the relief
of the poor, for the support of the Gospel at
home, for church extension, for the building
up of Sunday schools, for the cause of Chris-
tian education, for the distribution of evan-
gelical books and tracts, for the spread of

4 PREFACE.

the Bible, and for the support of missions.
Those whose hearts have been interest-
ed in these noble efforts for the salvation
of dying men, and especially when they
have been made officially responsible for the
guidance of these great enterprises, have felt
the stress of demand when there has been far
too little, and sometimes even nothing to pay.
And is this necessary ? Is it right? Is it
not rather insufferable, since "the earth is
the Lord's, and the fullness thereof?" On
every particle of goods entrusted to our
care God has an unquestionable claim for
these very purposes. The sons and daugh-
ters of the Church are, in large numbers,
growing wealthy under the stimulating and
economical forces of the very Christianity
they are called upon to support; and
every individual heart needs the moral
effects of the noble exercise of liberality
which the Gospel requires. " Keform " in the
beneficence of the Church is the demand of
the age, and we are happy to sound out the
appeal in notes so clear and soul-stirring as
those uttered in " The Great Keform."

PREFACE. 5

flow can the pastor, who would educate
his people in the habits of reliable benefi-
cence, do better than to provide himself with
a full and constant supply of one or all of
our excellent essays on this subject,and dis-
tribute them freely ? Should it be entirely a
gratuity, to come out of the tenth or greater
proportion he himself is to give, would he
not be wholly compensated in the enlarged
liberality of the people, in the increased
promptness and approach to equity in his
own support, in the healthy, thriving con-
dition of Church finances, and, most of all,
in the quickened piety of which this reform
would be at once a condition and a result ?

But the minister need not bear this bur-
den alone. His people, with a fair oppor-
tunity, will always help him. How can the
class-leader do more for God, in the pro-
motion of financial reform in the Church,
than to cooperate with the pastor in sup-
plying every member of his class? How
can a board of stewards, or of trustees, make
so economical and productive an expenditure
of a small amount of funds, as to see that

PREFACE.

the members of the Church, and of the
whole congregation, are thoroughly and con-
stantly supplied ? It will be like seed sown
upon good ground, to be gathered in an
abundant harvest. While we recognize the
responsibility as belonging to the pastor to
see that the books are furnished, and that
the subject is properly discussed from the
pulpit and in private conversation, we call
with the utmost confidence upon our breth-
ren of every relation to the Church to come
to his help, that the reform may be as
promptly extended and powerful as the
demand is imperative.

As this is a Prize Essay, it is due to the
author to state that the sealed envelope,
containing his name, gave us also the fact
that he declines to receive the prize for his
own use, and holds it subject to order for
future permanent or other benevolent pur-
poses of the Tract Society of the Methodist
Episcopal Church, under whose auspices the
book is sent out.

Jesse T. Peok.

New-York, Dec. 20, 1856.

CONTENTS.

PART I.
IMPORTANCE OF THE SUBJECT.

The next Question for Christian Keformers — Great Providential
Dispensations demand it — Interior Improvement of the Church
— Exterior preparations for it — Geographical access to the For-
eign World — Translation of the Scriptures — All the principal
False Religions of the "World declining— All the Improve-
ments of the Age aiding the Progress of Christianity— A right
Standard of Beneficence one of the present great wants of the
Church Page 11

PAET 11.

THE PRESENT STANDARD OF BENEFICENCE IN THE
CHURCH.

Indeflniteness of the Contributions of the Church — Recent Progress
—Two great Defects in the present Beneficence of the Church
— First, it lacks the Sentiment of Duty — Second, it lacks
Method Page 28

CONTENTS.

PART in.

WHAT SHOULD THE STANDARD OF CHRISTIAN
BENEFICENCE BE?

CHAPTER I.

IT SHOXJIiD BE FOUNDED IN THE SENTIMENT OF DUTY, ANB
BE MADE A METHODICAL HABIT.

Its two prevailing Defects should be corrected — It should be
founded in the Sentiment of Duty — Relation of Christian Men
to their Property — No difference of Moral Responsibility between
the Talents of the Christian Business Man and of the Christian
Missionary — The recognized difference a great and disastrous
Fallacy — Historical Example of the Church — Religious Benef-
icence in the Middle Ages— Under the Levitical Dispensation —
Among the Primitive Christians Page 35

CHAPTER II.

THE SCEIPTUEAL LAW OF BENEFICENCE.

Its Origin and Character — First, a General Rule — Second, a Per-
sonal Rule — Third, a Methodical Rule — Fourth, it prescribes a
Standard — Fifth, it discountenances Irregularities in Giving —
Sixth, it is Mandatory — Summary view of the Rule — Its Practi-
cal Contradiction by the Christian World Page 44

CHAPTER III.

WHAT SHOUIiD BE THE METHOD? — EXAMPLES.

The DiflBculty of any Plan which shall be at once Universal and
Particular — Outlines of a Right Method stated — The Example
of Cobb — The Example of Wesley— Examples of Baxter, Dodd-
ridge, and others — Examples of a Civilian and a Clergyman —
The Plan not Hypothetical, but an exemplified Fact... Page 56

CONTENTS. y

CHAPTER IV.

FUETHER SUGGESTIOKS ON THE SUBJECT.

The DiflBculty of Beginning — How to Begin — First, Adopt the Plan
resolutely — Second, Consecrate it with Special Prayer — Third,
Write it out — Fourth, Begin it with some decided Act of Charity
at once — Fifth, Ascertain the Condition of your Business, and
Harmonize, according to your written Covenant, your Business
Accounts and j'our Charity Accounts — Sixth, Maintain it in the
spirit of Christian Faith — The Consolation of a Good Man in
such a Course of Life Page 66

PART IV.

WHAT WOULD BE THE RESULTS WERE THE STAND-
ARD OF CHRISTUN BENEFICENCE WHAT IT
SHOULD BE?

CHAPTER L

PUBLIC ADVANTAGES.

First, It would secure a more Equal Distribution of the Financial
Burdens of the Church- Startling Statistics — Second, It would
increase the Resources of the Church. Further Statistics — Third,
It would afiford more Reliable Calculations for our Philanthropic
Plans— Fourth, It would tend to develop the other Energies of
the Church — Fifth, It would enable her to put the whole World
at once in a state of Moral Siege — Sixth, It would tend to stop
the mouths of Scorners Page 72

CHAPTER 11.

PERSONAL ADVANTAGES.

First, It would elevate our ordinary Secular Life — Second, Be a
Source of Pure Happiness — Third, A Blessing in its Influence on

10 CONTENTS. *

our Children — Fourth, Will secure the Blessing of God on Busi-
ness—Examples—Fifth, A guard against the Perils of Avarice
— Peculiarities of these Perils — Sixth, The final "Recompense
of Reward " Page 81

CHAPTER III.

OBJECTIONS ANSWERED.

First, It looks too much like bargaining with God — Second, I am
in Debt — In what case Debt is an excuse — Third, Posthumous
Beneficence — Its evils — Fourth, Difficulty of adjusting a Sys-
tem of Giving to some kinds or states of Business — Fifth, Post-
ponement Page 105

CONCLUSION.

THE DUTY OP A HIGHER STANDARD OF BENEFICENCE AS
FROM THE MORAL EXIGENCIES OF OUR COUNTRY.

Arguments from the Census — Our Population half a Century hence

— Our Population three-quarters of a Century hence — Character
of our Population — Our Territorial Area — Our Juvenile Popula-
tion — Importance of Sunday Schools — Importance of Colportage

— Enlarged liberality indispensable Page 113

THE

GREAT REFORM,

PART I.

IMPORTANCE OF THE SUBJECT.

We approacli the subject which we are
about to discuss with the conviction that its
importance cannot easily be exaggerated.

Two coincident tendencies of our times
render it one of the most important ques-
tions before the Christian world. The first
of these is, that Christianity^ throughout
Protestant lands at least, is becoming inore
and more detached from states, and there-
fore thrown, with its immense interests,
upon the voluntary support of its followers
The other is the fact, that at the same time
the opportunities for enterprises of philan-
thropy a/nd evangelization, at home and
abroad, are augmenting heyond all prece-
dent, and therefore calling for greatly in-

12 THE GREAT EEFOKM. •

creased fiscal means. These two tendencies
have become such determinate facts, that
they may indeed be considered laws of our
times; and they are inseparably related to
all that is progressive in Christianity.

What practical question, then, can be
more momentou§ to the Church, at this
hour, than the one now before us — the right
mode of meeting its financial wants ?

The great enterprises now devolving upon
it cannot be prosecuted, any more than war
itself, without financial "sinews." Here
indeed is their present most urgent desider-
atum ; and we think we mistake not when we
say, that the next great idea to he brought out^
anfid made prominent in the Churchy is its
true standard of pecuniary liherality — the
right relation of Christian men to their prop-
erty.

A change, amounting to a revolution,
must come over Christendom in this respect
before Christianity can fairly accomplish its
mission in our world. And does not the
providence of God present the solution of
this question as precisely and inevitably the
next great duty of the Church? A series
of providential dispensations have followed
each other, in her modern history, until
she has been brought to confront directly

IMPOKTANCE OF THE SUBJECT. 13

this pi'oblem, and here she stands — hesitat-
ing,, shall we say ? 'No — we trust not hesi-
tating, but preparing to solve it, and to de-
rive from it a new, and, as we believe, a
transcendant dispensation of success.

First in these providential dispensations
was the Reformation, letting out again the
light of the primitive truth upon the world ;
then came the '' Revival Epoch," under
Edwards, Wesley, and Whitefield ; then,
and almost immediately, ensued the great
Aggressive Movement, originating Sunday
schools, Bible, Tract, and Missionary Socie-
ties, the Temperance Reform, &c.

The Church itself having been thus put
into a new posture, and inspired with new
energies, the providence of God began the
work of preparation for it in the exterior
world ; and how marvelously has that prep-
aration advanced !

Let us glance at it here but for a moment.

First, the geographical access of the
Church to the foreign world has become
almost universal. Take the map of the
globe, and trace its outlines with your fin-
ger. You will find that doors for evangeli-
zation are open nearly at every important
point. China, with more than half the pop-
ulation of the earth, is accessible to all the

14 THE GREAT REFORM.

efforts that Christendom is willing to make
for her. Her provinces, peopled with mill-
ions who are generally able to read, and
who read but one language, might be inun-
dated with the Scriptures and other relig-
ious publications. Meanwhile her internal
movements are presenting new and marvel-
ous opportunities to the truth.

Descending southward we come to Siam,
where our missionaries already have full ac-
cess, and even royal protection at the capi-
tal.

Turning westward we reach Burmah and
Hindoostan, where Christianity, following in
the track of European conquest, is invading
Asia from the south, and achieving some of
its most signal triumphs.

Crossing the Indian Ocean we meet Mad-
agascar, where the truth has had a lodgment
for years ; and, after trials and martyrdom,
such as the modern Church has no where
else endured, has even reached the degraded
throne of the country.

We pass the Channel of Mozambique and
reach Africa, and here a whole continent
lies open to our labors — open on the East,
the South, the West.

We ascend northward and pass along Eu-
rope : almost everywhere presenting obsta-

IMPORTANCE OF THE SUBJECT. 15

cles, she almost everywhere presents also
opportunities. It will be time enough for
us to complain of the former when we have
fully availed ourselves of the latter.

We cross the ocean to the New World.
All the northern continent may be said to
be thrown wide open for every triumph the
Church may propose. The field is won and
somewhat fortified ; and, as if the provi-
dence of God would not wait our delays, but
would thrust upon us opportunities, the pop-
ulations of the Old World, of both Europe
and Asia, are cast in upon the mighty arena
by hundreds of thousands annually, to be
evangelized by our Christian agency.

South America, debased as it is by Pop-
ery, is more or less open, everywhere, to
the labors of missionaries and the circulation
of the Scriptures.

Passing thence to the Pacific — to the in-
numerable islands, and not merely islands, but
continents of Oceanica — now the resort of a
vast emigration, and soon to form a second
'' New World" — we find there not only un-
obstructed doors, everywhere, but already
6ome of the most triumphant victories ever
won by our faith.

Such, then, is the geograpliical access
which we now have to the foreign world.
2

16 THE GREAT KEFORM.

"Was it ever equaled? Everywhere does
tlie Macedonian vision stand out on the
boundaries of the nations, and beckon us.
j!^ot even in the age chosen by God for the
introduction of the Christian religion, be-
cause of the general sway and peace of the
Roman empire, was the whole world more
amply thrown open for the march of the
Church. TJiere is note passing over her a
da/y of opportunity such as the history of
our fallen race has never before seen. Apos-
tles themselves, it may be soberly said, saw
no such day. What is the providential
meaning of these facts ? What but that the
Church is summoned to labors, and liberal-
ity, and victories such as her history has not
before recorded.

Not only have we this great access to the
nations, but the ScriptureshsiYe been rendered
into most of their languages. We have now
about two hundred translations. Out of the
nine or ten hundred millions of our world's
population, some six hundred millions have
the oracles of Revelation in their vernacular.
This was the next essential provision : for what
would the living agency, entering into these
open doors, have done with the masses of
reclaimed pagans without the Scriptures?
What else than prepare another edition of

IMPORTANCE OF THE SUBJECT. 17

Popery ? But now, almost everywhere, the
rock is smitten in the desert, and the streams
have begun to flow.

Again, while breaches have thus been
made in the w^alls of error all around the
world, and the munitions — the Holy Scrip-
tures— have been provided for the conflict,
the enemy to be assailed has everywhere
been declining in the capacity to resist.
The inherent strength of all the principal
false religions of the world is decaying.

These great false religions are summari-
ly three — Paganism,' Mohammedanism, and
Popery. Judaism we take not into the
account, as it is not numerically formidable,
and, having no "local habitation," presents
no local difiiculty. The others make up the
strength of religious error in our world, and
each of them is not only smitten with in-
herent declension, but that declension is
produced by causes which must^ almost in-
emitahly^ continue to operate^ independently
even of our direct Christian efibrts ; causes
social, scientiflc, commercial, even mechani-
cal, which are impelling forward the world
into a new position, where its old religious
delusions must become obsolete,' whatever
new evils may take their place.

Heathenism, for example, as it exists

18 THE GREAT REFOKM.

throughout Asia and Africa and some of the
isles of the sea, must give way before the
progress of the new light that is everywhere
following in the track of commerce and col-
onization.

The leading forms of heathenism are so
identified with errors in science that the ad-
vancement of intelligence alone, dissipating
the latter, must almost inevitably dissipate
the former also. Their history is so fabulous,
their cosmogony so mythical, their astron-
omy so astrological, the whole encyclopedia
of their knowledge so mixed up with absurd-
ities, and these absurdities so interwoven
with their religion, that both must alike
give way before the new merely human
light that is now everywhere breaking in
upon their darkness.

We cannot conceive of the continued ex-
istence of the great systems of Paganism in
lands intersected by railroads and telegraph-
lines, and penetrated on all sides by those
practical ideas and practical enterprises
which modern business and modern science
are extending over the world.

One fact is conclusive of the fate of Pa-
ganism : it has no longer the power of self-
projpagation. We never hear of its extend-
ing itself any more. It has made no more

IMPORTANCE OF THE SUBJECT. 19

new conquests for generations, and it is im-
possible, in the very nature of things, that it
should. The power of progress, of conquest,
is without, and is continually compressing it
into closer and feebler quarters.

The same may be said of Mohammedanism.
It appeared at first before the nations full
of energy ; its early progress forms the most
brilliant chapter in history since the fall of
Rome ; it won its triumphant way westward
from Arabia, through northern Africa, into
Spain, and even- into Italy; it triumphed
over the Byzantine empire, and penetrated to
the very gates of Yienna ; it spread its rapid
conquests eastward into the heartof Asia. But
its energy is now exhausted ; in the East it
gives way before the advances of Euro23ean
enterprise from Southern India ; and in the
West it would expire, as a power among the
nations, in a day, were it not for the support
which is extended to it by Christian states.
The Crescent is the device on the banners of
Mohammedanism: it is an appropriate em-
blem of its fate. Sometimes when the sun
has risen we see the crescent-moon still lin-
gering in the heavens ; but it pales, and at
last disappears amid the effulgence of the
day. So pales the Crescent of the great im-
posture in the advancing light of the age.

20 THE GREAT JBEFOKM.

Hardly one century can be reasonably as-
signed to its future history as a state power
in the world.

We contend that Popery is beginning to fore-
bode a similar fate ; and from its essential in-
compatibility with the new tendencies of pro-
gress, which the providence of God is now
evolvinginthe world, must inevitably declne.

We cannot too carefully watch it, nor too
zealously labor for its defeat, for it will yet,
for years, be capable of disastrous influence
upon the world; but its essential strength is
sapped. Its history, as a great agent among
the governments of Europe, is closed. Its
dotage comes on apace. It is out of har-
mony with the age, and destiny itself is
against it. Our estimates of Popery in the
United States have erred egregiously. Ac-
cording to the census of 1850, it has not one-
eleventh of the number of churches belong-
ing to the Methodists, scarcely more than
one-eighth of the number of the Baptists,
not one-fourth the number of the Presbyte-
rians. It has not one thirty-third of the
whole number reported, while the Method-
ists have more than one-thi/rd, and the
Baptists nearly one-fourth. Its declension
in L'eland has been incredible. According
to Hev. R. Bickersteth, there were, about

IMPORTANCE OF THF SUBJECT. 21

six years ago, upward of five thousand priests
in Ireland ; last year, as appeared from a
return, there were only two thousand three
hundred and sixty-six — a loss of more than
one-half"^ As a State, in Italy, it could not
stand one week were the arms of its foreign
protectors withdrawn ; the people whose an-
cestors recognized its head as the vicegerent
of God on earth, would now chase him
ignominiously from their ruined country.

What is a pope's bull now-a-day s ? Nothing
but a religious epistle to his ecclesiastics
against heresy, Bible societies, &g. A few
generations ago it was the thunderbolt
of Jove, smiting a whole. province, or para-
lyzing an army.

What sovereign would now care for the
Pope's excommunication--that terrific mys-
tery at which the knees of kings, a few cen-
turies since, smote together? We never
hear of it any more as against rulers; and if
it should be revived, it would be a j est in
almost any court of the world.

Why ? Because the prestige of Popery is
gone — irrecoverably gone. The delusions of
the dark ages are past ; mankind have awaken-
ed from that thousand years' sleep, have risen

*•'' It should be stated, in reference to these and other
statistics in this volume, that it was written in '1864:.

22 THE GREAT REFORM.

up, rubbed their eyes, and found tliey liad'been
dreaming. The courts of Europe recognize the
popedom as an historical fact, still lingering,
and therefore to be taken account of, in some
way or other, in their conservative policy ;
but it is no longer a potential fact in any re-
spects among them. The Pope has little or
nothing to do with them directly, except it may
be to act the puppet in the ceremonial of a cor-
onation. Since the first French revolution
(a great curse with a great many blessings)
this has been about his significance in the
affairs of Europe. The world is outgrowing
Popery, and that is the explanation of its
late history. It may make efforts to re-
trieve itself — it may attempt to relate itself
to the movements of states, as in the French
reaction and in the politics of America — it
may, by Jesuitical agencies, insinuate itself
into the religious movements of anti- Catholic
countries, as in the Tractarianism of Oxford —
it may attempt to startle the remains of super-
stition among the multitudes by new trum-
pery, as the winking Madonnas, or the coat of
Treves, or the Immaculate Conception ; but
they all ultimately fail, and more than that,
they react. Puseyism, as a project for
papalizing the Anglican Church, is now a de-
terminate failure. The imposture at Treves

IMPORTANCE OF THE SUBJECT. 23

excited the ridicule of Europe, and turned
thousands out of the ranks of Popery. The
winking and nodding Madonnas have of late
years become standing jokes in the news-
papers of Christendom. It is too late in this
working day of the world for such nonsense.
Men, honest men, will either weep or laugh
at it ; but they will not respect it. Destiny
itself, we repeat, has set in against Popery.
It must descend into the abyss of the past —
its appropriate grave. Its old follies, like
the congenial ones of alchemy, astrology,
witchcraft, scholastic metaphysics, cenobitic
and anchorite life, must inevitably disappear
amid the increasing light of the age, as
bats and owls flee before the day. It may
make temporary and spasmodic efforts at
self-resuscitation, but it cannot succeed.
The waves may dash forward upon the
strand when the tide is descending ; but, as
sure as the invincible laws of nature, will
they at last go down. Popery attempts to
extend itself abroad ; it has many foreign
missions, and they at times seem to have
the energy of life in them ; but where do
they succeed now as they did two, three, and
four hundred years ago ? We are all familiar,
from our childhood, with a long-legged spider
which, when pierced through the center, still

24 THE GKEAT KEFORM.

struggles in its extremities, and the severed
extremities themselves still for a time move
with convulsive life, but at last die. Such
is Popery.

Thus, then, do the once mighty systems of
error begin to totter throughout the world.
The day has come for the moral strength
of Christendom to be put forth universally,
demonstratively, and we trust finally — put
forth on a scale never equaled before; for
most deliberately do we repeat, that never,
not even in the days of its founders, did an
hour so fraught with opportunity and hope
strike upon the clock of the world.

But we stop not here.

Coincidently with these great changes in-
numerable other advantages have been
providentially provided.

A few generations ago navigation and
commerce, those great means of access to
the foreign world, were almost exclusively
in the hands of papal states — Spain, Portu-
gal, the Catholic cities of Italy and Holland;
now they are almost as exclusively in the
hands of Protestant Christendom. England
is mistress of the seas, and in a few years
America will be their master.

A few generations since colonization —
that great means of extending civilization, in

IMPOiiTANCE OF THE SCBJECT. 25

botli ancient and modern times — was almost
entirely papal. With the era of the Puritans
it began to pass over to Protestantism, and
now Saxon Christianity is bearing forward
that great banner of progress in almost every
part of the world.

The art of printing, borrowing the energy
of steam, lends its invaluable aid to the prog-
ress of the times. The American Bible
Society can now send forth a Bible every
minute. Literature, among the greatest, is
becoming one of the cheapest of human
blessings.

The rapidity of international communica-
tion is annihilating distance, and uniting the
races of the world ; all arts which contribute
to the relief and advancement of humanity
are receiving an impetus never before known
in the history of mankind.

No man, however sober his judgment,
can look at these facts without perceiving
that the history of the human race is verg-
ing fast to a new and unprecedented epoch ;
that the false religions, the whole status of
the unenlightened world, surrounded and
pressed upon by such resistless agencies,
must inevitably be revolutionized.

We have, then, the geographical access;
we have the Scriptures, the munitions; we

26 THE GREAT KEFOEM.

have many incidental facilities for this final
moral campaign of the world. And mean-
while the strength of the foes itself inher-
ently declines. What is next needed besides
the spiritual purity of the Church? The
sinews of the war^ we repeat — the right
standard of pecuniary liberality. We say,
with all deliberation, that we cannot per-
ceive why the mission of Christianity in our
world could not proceed right on to its con-
summation, if this one condition were se-
cured. The great obstruction now laid be-
fore its chariot-wheels is Mammon — the last
idol of our Christian heathenism.

The Church has long been looking for the
Apocalyptic angel who is to bear the Gospel
to " every nation, and kindred, and tongue,
and people." She has looked to every point
in the horizon for the blessed sight, but she
has looked amiss. She must look to her own
altar ; there she will find him bound in the
golden fetters of her avarice, impatient, but
unable to attempt his gracious flight. Let
her break his chains ; then will he spread
his pinions, and she shall see the sublime
vision " flying in the midst of heaven, bear-
ing the everlasting Gospel to preach to them
that dwell on the earth."

Thus is the subject under review, tho great

IMPORTANCE OF THE SUBJECT. 27

question of the day for Christianity, though
injfinitely subordinate, of course, to that
spiritual consecration of the Church which
is everywhere presupposed in this essay
It has abeady begun to attract attention,
but it is yet too vague ; it needs develop-
ment, precision, demonstration. Several
prize volumes have been published upon
it ; several personal instances — princely ones
— of systematic charity have become familiar
to the public ; and, as examples,, will do
much to promote the beneficence of the
times. But the idea is yet too indefinite
to have a distinct impression on the public
mind of the Church. It must be more dis-
cussed. It is the idea for the next general
discussion of Christian reformers. And a
sublime theme for them is it — ennobled not
only by its essential beneficence, but by not
a few profound ethical bearings.

Half the energy now expended in wran-
glings that distract the Christian world and
disfigure the Church with sectarian bigotry
would be sufficient, if devoted to this great
question, to advance Christendom fifty per
cent, in a couple of generations, and would
come near redeeming the world in a century.
The remark is emphatic, but it is uttered in
all soberness.

28 THE GREAT REFORM.

PART IL

THE PEESENT STAND AKD OF BENEFIOENCE
m THE CHUECH.

Standing upon the high position which we
have assumed in tne preceding chapter, and
snrveyingthe unprecedented prospects which
extend from it in every direction, the ques-
tion of the practical duty of the Church in
such circumstances — of what is and what
ought to be done? — comes upon us witli a re-
sistless appeal.

Let us then ask ourselves. What is tJw
actual stoAidard of financial liberality in the
Church?

We can hardly put the question without
a startling, and if it were not for the serious-
ness of the subject it would be a ludicrous
sense of the incongruity of the language.
Can we indeed say that there is any stand-
ard— any definite principle whatever in the
Christian beneficence of the age? "We are
proposing, what? — the overthrow of Popery,
of Mohammedanism, of all heathendom — the
moral conquest of the world itself. Nay, we

#

PRESENT STANDARD OF BENEFICENCE. 29

go further ; we propose the redemption of
the human race for both worlds ; we are
proposing this at confessedly the most oppor-
tune and, therefore, the most responsible
hour of the world's history. We admit that
a financial basis is requisite for this mighty
design ; and yet hardly a definite ■ idea has
been recognized respecting the pecuniary
duty that lies, in a sense, at the foundation
of the whole enterprise.

Let us meet the question honestly ; but in
doing so let us acknowledge some late rapid
improvements — improvements which indi-
cate that the revolution we have afiirmed to
be necessary is not improbable. Twenty-
five years have effected marvelous changes
in this respect. E'early all the great Protest-
ant philanthropies have been much advanced
within that period ; and if we bear in mind
that hardly a century has passed since most
of our Christian "enterprises" began, the
present degree of pecuniary liberality among
us is certainly encouraging. Many Chris-
tian capitalists, in England and in this coun-
try, have come to understand that they are
not proprietors, but stewards of their wealth;
and are devoting it, in large sums, to tlie
charities of the times.

If we examine the treasury accounts of

30 THE GREAT KEFOfJM. »

the " Christian enterprises " of the day, we
shall find a rapidly-increasing ratio of re-
ceipts. A few years ago Rev. Stephen
Eoszel, of the Baltimore Conference of the
Methodist Episcopal Church, wrote to a
friend that he " really believed the time
would come in which that conference would
afford $1,000 per annum for the missionary
cause." The treasurer's report from January
to December, 1854, shows $23,815 92. The
estimate of the veteran Roszel is now prob-
ably met by some single churches of the
conference. Such examples ^re multiplying
everywhere and in all sects.

Still how far short of the necessity of the
times and the capacity of the Church is its
liberality ! It has been said that the aggre-
gate appropriations of American Protestant-
ism, for foreign evangelization, do not exceed
the annual expense of a single American
ship-of-the-line. Is this fact befitting the
strength and opportunities of American
Christianity in an age like this? The largest
denomination of the land contributes to
both its foreign and domestic missions at
the rate of only about twenty-five and
a half cents for each of its members.*

'* Methodism may plead some apology, however ; it is
not a century old. In about eighty-seven years it has

PRESENT STANDARD OF BENEFICENCE. 31

Tlie American Board of Commissioners for
Foreign Missions has commanded greater
success ; the members of the Churches pat-
ronizing it give at the rate of one dollar
each. These are fair indications of the pe-
cuniary liberality of the times. Encouraging
as they are in comparison with the past, they
almost assume, we repeat, a ludicrous insig-
nificance when we consider the design con-
templated— the moral renovation of the
world. Would an average of five dollars
per memher— four millions per annum — be
an extravagant contribution for the Method-
ist Episcopal Church to such a design ? "We
think the time will come when even that
sum will be deemed a pittance for the pur-
pose.

Let us look more closely at our present
standard of liberality, if we may venture to
use the phrase.

The Christian beneficence of the times
lacks two important elements — the senti-

erected four thousand two hundred and twenty chapels,
(not much less than one a week during all its history,)
at an expense of $14,730,571. Its expenses for colleges,
academies, parsonages, the renewal as well as the original
erection of chapels, &c., have been estimated, for the last
quarter of a century, at " very little short of one million
of dollars per annum." This is in addition to the ex-
pense of its ministry, missions, &c.
3

32 THE GEE AT REFORM.

meiit oi moral obligation and method. There
is, unquestionably, some sentiment of duty
associated with our charities, but it is so
general as to be almost inappreciable. It
has no stronghold on the conscience. "We
feel that we ought to do something for import-
ant benevolent enterprises. He would be pro-
nounced an egregious lieretic who should
deny it absolutely. But how few of us have
ever given Christian liberality a place among
our ordinary and acknowledged obligations !
How few have defined its extent, or kept its
reckoning, or deliberately provided for it as
a ditty !

We give when occasion offers, but how ?
We hardly know ourselves. An eloquent
speech, an anecdote, an example of rivalry,
sometimes even a jest, extorts our contribu-
tion ; and thus much of the whole fiscal
scheme of Christianity for the redemption of
the world — much of the whole " exchequer "
of the " kingdom of God " among men — is
based upon mere accidents. Is this not the
case? And is it, can it be right? Is it not
amazing that the finances of religion have
not taken a more religious character? Is
there not needed here a revolution, as we
have said?

One question is decisive of this point :

PRESENT STANDARD OF BENEFICENCE. 33

Who of US ever feels conscience-stricken if
he omits this duty ? "Who ever goes home
from an assembly for religious beneficence
to spend the night in remorse for not having
given enough ? Should you, Christian read-
er, as a business man, underpay an honest
debt, your conscience could not rest. No
one might know the fact save yourself ; but
your own knowledge of it would be more
terrible to you than the knowledge which all
men and angels could have. Here is as real
a duty as your business debts. It does not
take precedence of them, but it is in its
place as essentially a duty. Yet, alas ! how
few feel the guilt of its violation. Assured-
ly the Christian world needs new convictions
on the subject. While mere impulse is
thus the occasion of most of our contribu-
tions, the manner of giving them is also
mostly casual. Systematic charity is begin-
ning to be a theme of the religious press and
of the pulpit — a hopeful sign of the times.
But how limited yet is the habit ! Here and
there you meet a conscientious man who
has become convinced that it is not only his
duty to give, but that the obligation is so
sacred as to require scrupulous attention.
He feels that he must render account of it in
the " last day," and he settles the claim by a

34 THE GEEAl' REFORM.

methodical adjustment of his liberality to
the whole business of his life. How can he
well do otherwise when once he has perceiv-
ed aright the subj ect ? Yet so rare are these
examples, that scarcely any man can enumer-
ate twenty-five of them in all his acquaint-
ance.

Such, then, is the existing standard of
Christian beneficence, if standard it can be
C5-Iled. We are not aware that we have
described it with too little qualification. If
any one thinks we have, he will at least ad-
mit that we are not far short of the truth.

THE SENTIMENT OF DUTY. 36

PART III.

WHAT SHOULD THE STANDARD OF CHEIS-
TIAN BEKEFIOEl^OE BE?

CHAPTER I.

IT SHOULD BE FOUNDED EST THE SENTIMENT OF
DUTY, AND BE MADE A METHODICAL HABIT.

The actual standard of Christian beneficence
being such, if it is asked what it should be,
we reply. Just the reverse of the defects we
liave described.

First, it should he made a matter of con-
scientious duty I and secondly, hecome a prac-
tical^ a regular habit j and until the teach-
ers of religion have so taught the people, w^e
cannot expect our religious charities to as-
sume stability and efficiency. Perhaps no
point of Christian ethics is more misappre-
hended, or rather not apprehended at all,
.than the relation of Christian men to theii
property. And yet the Scriptures are notice-
ably express on the subject: they teach, as

do THE GREAT KEFOEM. •

we have said, not the proprietorship, but the
stewardship of the religious man of property.
There prevails a perverse discrimination be-
tween the moral responsibility of such talents
and that of almost all others — a remarkable
fallacy, that has withheld from Christian-
ity nine-tenths of its proper effectiveness
in the world.

The parable of the talents only discrimi-
nates their degrees ; the principle of their
moral responsibility is the same ; and he
that had the least gift, and felt, therefore,
that he had the least necessity to be scrupu-
lous, was the one who was cast " into outer
darkness, where there was weeping and
gnashing of teeth." The man who is en-
dowed with the call and the talents to
preach the Gospel, feels that "woe is me if I
preach not the Gospel." If he abandons his
sacred office to seek wealth, he is regarded
by the devout as a sort of an apostate, and
held accountable to God for the misap-
plication of his talents. And so he is ; and
terrible is his accountability. But be re-
minded, Christian men of business, that
when you entered "the kingdom of God"
you also became "priests" — for ye are
"kings and priests unto God; ye 'are not
your own, for ye are bought with a price."

THE SENTIMENT OF DUTY. 37

Your talent is different, but your responsi-
bility for its religious use is the same as his.
Like him, you live in the world only to pro-
mote the interests of that spiritual kingdom
into which you have entered. There is no
more obligation on the missionary, in the
ends of the earth, to devote his talents to the
interests of that kingdom, than there is on
you, in your workshop, to devote your hum-
bler talents to the same great end. Woe
will be on him if he preach not the Gospel ;
woe will be on you in like manner if your
talents, whatever they may be, are not, with
a similar consecration, devoted to its promo-
tion. Have you ever awakened to this
truth ? It probably strikes you, now that
we are stating it, as exceedingly questiona-
ble— a rhetorical extravagance rather than
a sober logical fact. But be assured that
you cannot otherwise interpret your Bible ;
be assured that death will so interpret it to
your awakened conscience, and " the Judge
of the quick and dead " will so apply it when
the " books shall be opened."

How different is the prevalent view of the
religious uses of property, even among Chris-
tian men ! How few of them differ in their
business habits from the unreclaimed world-
lings around them ! They are in tlie sanctuary

38 THE GEEAT REFORM.

on the Sabbath, and, it may be, in their
closets of pra3^er daily ; but how few of them
carry a well-defined religious purpose into
their business life! They share the com-
mon and ruinous avidity for wealth. They
go on adding house to house and stock to
stock. Death comes at last; and, amid
their accumulated treasures — accumulated
for they hardly know what — they are sum-
moned to their account. And what an
account must be given of such a life by men
professing to " be not of the world," to " live
not unto themselves, but unto Him who
died for them and rose again ! "

A dereliction — an appalling dereliction —
prevails all through Christendom in this re-
spect. It has been the disaster of the world.
The prolonged delay, if not defeat, of the
Christian mission has been a fearful mystery
to many good men. There have been many
causes for it, doubtless ; but the chief one,
next to the spiritual declension of the Church,
the one which now, as we have shown, is tlie
chief obstruction of the Gospel, is that which
we are discussing — the almost universal dis-
regard of the Scriptural doctrine of the rela-
tion of Christian men to their property. Is
it not at once obvious, that if the right idea
of this subject were brought out fully in all

THE SENTIMENT OF DUTY. 39

the Church, and its fiscal schemes were based
upon the sense of duty and settled habits of
liberality, the whole face of Christendom and
of the world itself would soon be changed?

The position we have thus taken respect-
ing the moral obligation of Christian benefi-
cence, novel as it may appear to some of
our readers, is, we think. Scriptural, and in
accordance with the sense of the Church in
former times. Indeed, the vagueness, both
of principle and practice, which now char-
acterizes our Christian liberality, is, we be-
lieve, more extreme than at any former
period of the Church. As the command to
spread the Gospel "into all the world," came
to be so indefinitely apprehended as to be
almost a nullity throughout Protestant Chris-
tendom, until within a few generations, so
the Scriptural doctrine of beneficence has
lost its distinctness — been nearly generalized
away — until recent exigencies of the Church
have begun to recall attention to it.

The Middle Ages excelled us altogether in
this respect ; property was then very gene-
rally consecrated to religion. The charities
of those dark times were misdirected, and
became a public evil ; but they were right in
their nloral principle. They covered Europe
with temples and religious houses, and gave

40 THE GREAT REFOEM.

an aspect of piety, however superstitious, to
secular possessions and all secular life.

The Levitical dispensation was distin-
guisTied in a remarkable manner by the
sanctification of property ; and not more by
its endless symbolism than by its religious
charities was it adapted to the moral educa-
tion of its people. "We err egregiously when
we speak of the tithe^ the one-tenth, as the
standard of Jewish contributions to religion.
The seal of a religious charity was put upon
almost every article of the Jew's possessions.
He paid for the ransom of his first-born son;
he paid for the first-fruits of his flocks, and
the first gatherings of his harvest, the latter
being estimated at a sixtieth. He left in the
corners of his fields, for the destitute, another
sixtieth. Whatever dropped from his hand
in reaping was left for the poor ; and once
in every seven years he allowed his lands to
produce spontaneously for them. Then
there were the sacrificed animals, or portions
of them — the trespass-ofi'erings, the sin-ofiPer-
ings, &c. ; the expense of pilgrimages to the
temple, thrice in the life of every .male ; the
half-shekels for the sanctuary, and the remis-
sion of all debts every seventh year. Besides
these there were numerous expenses for hos-
pitality and reliefs to the poor ; and then

THE SENTIMENT OF DUTY. 41

came j;he tithe — the tenth of the produce of
the fields — for the Levites ; and, finally, the
remainder was assessed for another tenth, to
be spent for the worship of the temple and
for the poor ; and then, at the end of every
third year, in order to secure the integrity
of the law, the people made solemn declara-
tion before God that this last tenth had been
faithfully provided. It has been estimated
that the devout Jew gave away about one-
third of all his income to the poor and to
religion. And let it be borne in mind, tITat
so exact and graduated were the Levitical
customs in this respect, that these appropria-
tions were not from particular classes of the
people, but from all ; the ratio being pro-
portioned to their resources. Besides these
systematic charities, what special liberality
did they show for their religion, as for the
tabernacle in the wilderness and the temple
at Jerusalem — the amount expended on the
latter being estimated at three thousand mill-
ions of dollars i a sum that throws into utter
eclipse all the expenditure of Protestant
Christendom during generations for that
greater work of foreign evangelization, to
which, as we have shown, all the world is
summoning it.

A divine meanini? was there in this Jewish

42 THE GREAT KEFOEM.

system of beneficence : it had thosifc true
elements of effectiveness which we have
said are lacking in our modern Christian
charities — moral obligation and method. It
was no grievance on the Jewish people ;
few of their institutions had a more salutary
effect upon their social system ; they thrived
under it, and perhaps no nation ever suffered
less under that great plague of modern civil-
ization— pauperism — the problem that baffles
the legislative wisdom of the age, and almost
everywhere obstructs the march of nations.

Though this noble beneficence was con-
nected with the Jewish ecclesiastical system,
and is therefore annulled in its detail, yet
will any Christian man admit that its essen-
tial principles are annulled? that Christianity,
especially in this age, when the destinies of
the world are devolving upon it, may have
a financial standard beneath that of a state
which was hardly larger than some of the
single counties of this Christian land, and
whose whole design was the maintenance of
a preliminary if not a local religion ?

The primitive Christians did not under-
stand that the abolition of Judaism repealed
its essential beneficence. On the contrary,
few subjects received more attention in the
first consultations and labors of the Church

THE SENTIMENT OF DUTY. 43

than its provisions for the poor and for the
extension of the Gospel. One of its ministe-
rial orders, still retained, — the deaconate, —
was established chiefly for charitable pur-
poses. It had all things in common when
circumstances justified it. Its weekly sacra-
ment was followed with distributions to the
absent sick and poor. When it sent forth
Paul and Barnabas " unto the heathen," it
was with but one specific injunction : " Only
they would that we should remember the
poor." Journeys and plans for " collec-
tions" for the Churches, are of frequent
record in the Epistles and the Acts. One
of the apostles asks, "Whoso hath this
world's goods, and seeth his brother have
need, and shutteth up his bowels from him,
how dwelleth the love of God in him?"
Another declares charity to the widow and
fatherless to be a part of the definition of
religion — "of pure and undefiled" religion;,
another urges beneficence upon the Church
as an exemplification of the principle of the
atonement itself — the "grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ," who, "though he was rich,
yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye
through his poverty might be rich;" and
Christ himself dignified it as the test-virtue
of the final judgment.

44: THE GREAT KEFOKM.

CEAPTEE n.

THE SCRTPTUEAL LAW OF BENEFICENCE.

Keeping in view, still, the two necessary
elements of a right theory of beneficence —
obligation and sy stein — we come now to the
revealed law on the subject, which, as we
shall see, combines both these elements.

We learn from Joseph us and Philo, that
collections of tithes and other gifts for the
temple service at Jerusalem were made
regularly in the synagogues on every Sab-
bath. The Christians at first assembled io
the synagogues, not only in Judea, but
wherever they could throughout the empire ;
and their ministerial " orders,'' form of "or-
dination," and some other rites still extant,
• were actually copied from the synagogue
service. The synagogue charities probably
led to St. Paul's rule of Christian benefi-
cence, as recorded in 1 Cor. xvi, 2: — " IvTow
concerning the collection for the saints, as
I have given order to the Churches of
Galatia, even so do ye. Upon the first day
of the week, let every one of you lay
by him in store as God hath prospered

THE SCRIPTURAL LAW OF BENEFICENCE. 45

him, that there be no gatherings when I
come."

The apostle modifies the Jewish custom —
the "first day" — the '^ Lord'^s day^^ — was
substituted for the Jewish Sabbath ; and as
there was no centralization of Christianity,
as of Judaism, at Jerusalem, and no mode
of distributing these charities, except by the
casual passage of the apostles or leading
saints, they were to be kept "in store" till
such opportunities occurred. The principle
of the synagogue custom was retained, the
form only being changed.

This passage we deem to be the divine
rule of Christian heneficence. It is as spe-
cific as the command to spread the Gospel.
It is the counterpart of that command, and
necessary for its fulfillment ; for " how shall
they preach except they be sent?" And
the indefiniteness of its impression on the
Christian mind of our day is, as we have
before said, the same as that wliich, until
within a few generations, rendered compar-
tively powerless the command to " preach
the Gospel to every creature."

We are not disposed to be homiletic in
.this discussion, but we cannot forbear to
direct attention to the very specific charac-
ter of this text. It comprises every point

46 THE GREAT REFORM.

that could well be suggested as necessary
for a complete ordinance on the subject — a
law which would admit of no evasion.
Look at it : —

First. It seems to have been designed as
a general rule. As we have stated, it was
the general custom of the Jewish Sabbath,
only modified enough to suit it to the new
circumstances of the new Church. Though
prescribed for the Church at Corinth in this
instance, yet this does not limit it as a local
practice; for the obvious reasons which
could render it desirable there would apply
anywhere, and many of the most important
lessons of revelation, now recognized as
unquestionably of general application, are
derived from epistles addressed to local
Churches. Besides these considerations, the
apostle expressly says that he but repeated
instructions given elsewhere : " As I have
given order to the Churches (not Church)
of Galatia, so do ye."

The inference of its universal applicabili-
ty is irresistible. What sentiment of Chris-
tian sympathy, or motive of usefulness that
would render it applicable to Corinth, or to
all the Churches of Galatia, would not apply
to the Church at Smyrna, or Jerusalem, or
Rome — would not apply with even ten-fold

THE SCEIPTUEAL LAW OF BENEFICENCE. 47

force to all the modern Church, situated,
as we have shown, in our introductory chap-
ter, amid redoubled opportunities and ne-
cessities ? The field of the primitive Church
at this time was the Roman empire, though
it was soon extended beyond that limit.
Our own country alone now equals territo-
rially the Roman dominion ; the opportuni-
ties for Christian extension, and especially
for Christian expenditure, are incalculabljt
greater than they were then ; the whole
world is open to us in a manner not equaled
then ; new means of propagating Christiani-
ty, and especially requiring funds, (such as
the mighty agency of the press,) are at our
command ; the demands for expenditures
within the limits of Christendom itself — for
the relief of pauperism, the education of the
neglected poor, in Sunday-schools and other-
wise, Christian provisions for the aged and
sick, &c. — are more pressing now than they
were then. How then can we escape the
general principle of this great law ? All
that is new in our circumstances adds to
rather than detracts from its force.

Second. The rule is individual as well as
general. " Let every one of you," &c. The
poor as well as the rich were to do some-
thing; for the rule was not only designed to
4

48 THE GREAT REFORM.

secure funds, but to have a moral effect on
the giver himself. And here again all sound
logic presses overwhelmingly upon us the
modern applicability of this law. God had
provided for his people in the desert by mir-
acles ; he sent bread even from heaven, and
the poor, alike with the rich, were preternat-
urally supplied. It was a day of perhaps
unequaled miracles when this command
•was given ; the apostle who gave it could
raise the dead, yet he could not miracu-
lously supersede this duty of the Church by
providing for its financial necessities. It
was not the will of God that the poor should
be thus supplied, or the expenses of the
Church thus provided. And why ? Because
in his infinite wisdom he saw that the moral
discipline of his people depended upon their
cooperation with himself in such duties.
Each one — ''''every one''^ — was to have his
share in them, that " every one " might
have his reward. The whole reason that
rendered it unsuitable for miraculous power
to supersede the duty, rendered it proper
that the duty should be an individual one ;
and that grand reason applies now, and will
apply while the world stands. Not only
have we then the precept for the individual
duty, but an irresistible argument which

THE SCKIPTUIIAX LAW OF BENEFICENCE. 49

sustains it and rendere it universally and
permanently appropriate.

Third. It is methodical', stated, in regard
to time— "upon the first day of the week ;" and
specific in regard to manner — "lay by him in
store." Th» apostle would evidently guard
against that casual habit of liberality which
has crept into the Church in modern times,
and which, as we have shown, has become the
fundamental defect of our religious finances.
The words are words of wisdom — of the divine
wisdom of Him who knew what we needed
on the subject. The usual course of the
Scriptures is to reveal, even in their occa-
sional precepts, great principles of duty,
leaving to the suggestions of common-sense
their particular applications. ]^o very pre-
cise method is given here ; such a method,
while it might suit some, might admit of
evasion in others ; yet there is enough par-
ticularity in the command to show the
duty of a well-arranged plan on the part
of each. This is further seen in the fact
that, —

Fourth. It prescribes a standard of lib-
erality quite definite, though flexible enough
to meet any circumstances : '' As God has
prospered him.^' The poor or unprosperous
man is not to be bound to any absolute self-

50 thp: great eefor^ni

taxation which might bring suffering upon
his family ; the ricli man is not bj any ab-
solute stated donation to assume the right
of reserving to himself his other gains, how-
ever great. All were alike stewards, not
proprietors of their resources,, and where
much was given much was required. How
could a rule for general use be more specif-
ic ? What rule could be more reasonable ?
What reason, we ask again, could slistain
such a rule in the primitive Church, that
does not apply with tenfold force to modern
Christians ? It is pressed upon us, as has been
shown, by innumerable and overwhelming
demands, and yet how few among our most
liberal men give ''as God has prospered
them ?" Among the ten thousand Christians
around you, can you. Christian reader, enu-
merate a score who do so, or who have ever
thought enough of the command to attempt
even to estimate what is the proportion be-
tween their gifts and the success with which
"God has prospered them?" Unquestiona-
bly the Church is generally astray from the
word of God in this respect ; and are we to
wonder that her progress in the world is
slow, while she errs so egregiously respect-
ing a duty which lies at the very foundation
of her great plans ? — a duty which is as lit-

THE SCEIPTUKAI. LAW OF BENEFICENCE. 51

erally expressed in the word of God as the
law against murder.

Fifth. The apostle seems carefully to dis-
countenance the irregularities, the often
questionable expedients with which om*
modern public collections are made. "That
there be no gathering when I come :" "Let
all things be done decently, and in order,"
lie has said elsewhere. Our ordinary meth-
ods of getting money for the Church, on
public occasions at least, will hardly bear
the test of this rule ; and yet it is doubtful
whether we could get it very abundantly
otherwise, with the present loose convictions
of the Church respecting the duty of its lib-
erality. A stronger proof could hardly be
given of the necessity of reviving the apos-
tolic rule of beneficence. Let this have
efi'ect, and our charities will not depend
upon eloquence, an anecdote, a jest! — 'they
will be as readily and as faithfully appro-
priated as our expenses for daily household
necessities.

Sixth. The rule is mandatory ; it was en-
joined in this case as it was ordered in the
other: — "As I have given order to the
Churches of Galatia, even so do ye." The
language is very express, and the logic
which sustains it as obvious. We have

52 THE GREAT REFORM

abundantly anticipated the latter in the
above remarks and the preceding chapter,
and need not repeat it here, especially as we
wish not, by unnecessary observations, to
overlay the clear and striking propositions
which a simple analysis of. the text brings
out.

Such then is this notable passage. Could
it be more significant? ^Now that it is a
rigid statute, to be interpreted exactly ac-
cording to the letter, we do not insist. That
would be absurd : but we insist that the
generalization of it, by which its essential
meaning has been nearly lost in the modern
Church, is equally absurd ; we insist that it
does indicate the essential rule of Christian
beneficence, and that it unquestionably im-
plies these three elements as constituents of
that rule, viz. : —

First. That Christian beneficence is a
matter of moral obligation.

Second. That it should be a determinate
habit.

Third. That it should be a corruprehensi'oe
sanotification of the secular business of the
Christian man. He should live to sustain
himself and those dependent upon him, only
that he and his may be co-workers together
with God for the salvation of the world,

THE SCRIPTDKAL LAW OF BENEFICENCE. 63

laboring for this end in his workshop, in his
fields, or in the mart, and applying to it the
fruits of his labor as " God prospers him," —
which he cannot do without a method of
some kind.

What a revolution of ordinary Christian
life would these principles make ! We affirm
that they are Scriptural, and that their enun-
ciation and demonstration throughout the
Christian world are the great want of the
times, and must be secured before the Church
can avail itself fully of its present great op-
portunities.

These Scriptural teachings accord fully
with the views we have advanced, in our
preceding chapter, on the moral obligation
of Christian beneficence. While they give
the outlines of the " method" which we there
advocate, they also present the highest argu-
ment, because the highest authority, for the
"duty" we asserted; and we have given
them separately, because their Scriptural
authority and minuteness claim a distinct
consideration. In that chapter we said that
the responsibility of the Christian preacher —
the missionary — to consecrate his talents to
the salvation of men, difi*ered not in princi-
ple from that which bound the Christian man
of business to devote his business talents to

54 THE GREAT REFORM.

the same purpose, and that the " woe " which
should fall upon the former " if he preached
not the Gospel," would fall upon the latter
if he did not, with his different talent, be
also a " co-worker together with God" for the
same end. The doctrine is entirely unques-
tionable. In a hypothetical sense — so vague
as to be inappreciable and almost useless —
it is readily granted ; but when we gi\^e it
distinct shape, and bring it home to the in-
dividual man, how hard is its admission!
How is it outrightly contradicted by the
practice of the Christian world ! Yet we
insist upon it, not only as a general truth, but
in the detail of its application. What ! if a
Christian capitalist has ten or twenty thou-
sand dollars income above the wants of his
family or his business, would you have him
appropriate it all to benevolence ? Yes, or
fifty, or a hundred, or ten hundred thousand !
just as much so as the poor man with his
fifty, or a hundred, or ten hundred cents.
If Luther or Wesley had deserted the Chris-
tian ministry for selfish ends, the "woe"
upon them in the " last day " would be pro-
portionate to their great talents and opportu-
nities. The vast responsibility of the failure
of the Reformation or of Methodism would
devolve upon one or the other of them for-

THE SOEIPTDfJAI. LAW OF BENEFICENCE. 00

ever. The responsibility of the talents of the
Christian business-man is, we repeat, the
same in principle. It is a tacit but disastrous
sophistry which has led the Christian world
to suppose otherwise. Stephen Girard and
John Jacob Astor held their great property
or business talents under the same moral
responsibility which applied to those great
men of the Church. That responsibility will
confront them at the bar of their God.
There will be no evasion of it there, though
it might never have been thought of here.
"How hardly shall they that have riches
enter into the kingdom of God ?" asked the
incarnate God himself! And " his disciples
were astonished at his doctrine," says the
narrative. It is equally astonishing in these
days, when brought out thus into distinct
contemplation.

But why should it be so hard for a rich
man to be saved ? Why, but that riches,
having this responsibility, are nevertheless
beset with such peculiar temptations to for-
get it ? "We might " make to ourselves friends
of the mammon of unrighteousness, who,
when we fail " on earth, " shall }-eceive us into
everlasting habitations ; " wealth is indeed
enviable in view of its capacities for useful-
ness ; it may scatter benedictions all along

56 THE GREAT REFORM.

our pilgrimage through life ; it may bring
the blessings of those who are ready to per-
ish upon our dying hours, or their welcomes
at the gate of heaven. But alas! a ricli
man shall " hardly enter into " that heaven ;
such is the perversion of the moral sense of
even us Christians in respect to this noble
yet perilous responsibility. Let him that
has it upon his hands bethink himself.
Let him beware of robbing his brother and
his God. Let him be reminded that he is
but a steward ; that the day comes on fast
when it shall be said unto him, "Give ac-
count of thy stewardship !" and that then he
shall be judged by that revealed word which
we have been examining, and of which not
" one jot or tittle " shall fail.

CHAPTEE III.

WHAT SHOULD BE THE METHOD? EXAMPLES.

We have thus far shown that beneficence
should be regarded by the Christian as a
duty^ and should be pursued methodically.
But what method do we recommend ? >

WHAT SHOULD BE THE METHOD? 57

In the preceding chapter we have given
the Scriptural outlines which are essential to
any plan of the kind, but they are only out-
lines. It would of course be impossible to
prescribe any rule whichwould be applicable,
in every particular, to every case. Nor is
this of much importance. Once make charity
a matter of conscientious duty, and it will
not be diflScult for a conscientious man to
form his own plan, for plan we insist he
should have. The following, however, seems
to be a correct course, namely: —

1. Define well what is requisite for the
current support and education of your fam-
ily, and tlie proper increase of your busi-
ness— determining not to go heyond a certain
point in the latter respect.

2. While advancing toward the maximum
of your capital, give away annually a certain
per centage of your income.

3. When you reach the maximum, give
amay all your income^ except what is re-
quisite for the temperate expenses of your
family.

This plan has been followed by numbers
of persons whose examples have been record-
ed. The case of K. K. Cobb, Esq., a Baptist
merchant of Boston, is well known. He re-
solved to give, from the beginning, one-fourth

58 THE GEEAT KEFOEM.

of his net profits ; to give one-half viih.Qn his
capital reached twenty thousand dollars ;
three-quarters when it reached thirty thou-
sand dollars; and all the profits when it
amounted to fifty thousand dollars. He re-
retained his generous resolution till his death,
when he had already i-eached the maximum,
and had scattered the blessings of his liber-
ality in every direction. He distributed the
profits of his business with the -increasing
ratio, from year to year, till he had reached
the point which he had fixed as the limit of
his property, and then he gave to the cause
of God all that he earned. At one time
finding that his property had increased be-
yond fifty thousand dollars, he immediately
devoted the surplus (seven thousand five hun-
dred dollars) as a foundation for a professor-
ship in the l^ewton Theological Institution,
to which he gave, during his life, at least
twice that sum. So scrupulous was he in
his adherence to the covenant which he had
made, that when peculiar circumstances re-
quired him to retain in his possession more
than fifty thousand dollars, he consulted ju-
dicious friends whether he might do so con-
sistently with the spirit of his pledge, pro-
vided he always held the surplus as really
belonging to the cause of God. Here is the

WHAT SHOULD BE THE METHOD? 69

secret of that wonderful liberality which
cheered so many hearts, and gave vigor to
so many institutions and plans of benevolence.
It sprung from steady religious principles ;
it was the fruit of the Holy Spirit. He
always felt that God had bestowed on him a
rich blessing in enabling liim to serve his
cause. On his death-bed he said to a friend,
in allusion to the rules quoted above, "By
the grace of God — nothing else — by the grace
of God, I have been enabled, under the influ-
ence of those resolutions, to give away more
than forty thousand dollars. How good the
Lord has been to me!"'^

John Wesley remarked in early life, that
he had known but four men who had not
declined in religion by becoming wealthy ;
later in life he corrected the remark, and
made no exception. He himself, therefore,
guarded scrupulously against the danger.
When his own income was but £30 a year
he gave away £2 ; when it was £60 he still

* The following is Mr. Cobb's record of his resolution :
"By the grace of God I will never be worth more than
$50,000. By the grace of God I will give one-fourth of
the profits of my business to charitable and religious uses.
If ever I am worth $20,000, T will give one-half of my net
profits ; and if ever I am worth $30,000, 1 will give three-
fourths ; and the whole, after $50,000. So help me God,
or give to a more faithful steward, and set me aside."

60 THE GREAT REFORM.

confined his expenses to £28, and gave away
£33 ; when it reached £120 he kept himself
to his old allowance, and gave away £92.
Besides giving himself wholly to the public
good, and laboring as devotedly as any other
man of modern times for the moral welfare
of the poor, he gave away, it is computed, a
hundred and fifty thousand dollars, the pro-
ceeds of his publications, &c. The last in-
sertion in his private journal, written with a
trembling hand, reads thus : " For upward
of eighty-six years I have kept my accounts
exactly. I will not attempt it any longer,
being satisfied with the continual conviction
that I save all I can and give all I can ; that
is, all I have."— J: Wesley, July 16, 1790.
Dr. Watts gave away one-fifth of his in-
come ; Baxter, Doddridge, Dr. Hammond,
and Lord Chief Justice Hale, one-tenth.
Baxter says that he gave for years this
amount, but at last found it too little. He
expresses the opinion, however, " that it is
as likely a proportion as can be prescribed,
and that devoting a tenth part ordinarily to
God is a matter that we have more than a
human direction for." Doddridge, referring
to the subject, says, " I made a solemn dedi-
cation of one-tenth of my estate, salary, and
income to charitable uses ; and I also devote

WHAT SHOULD BE THE METHOD? 61

to such uses an eighth of everything I re-
ceive by way of gift or present."

In a late publication, a case is nlentioned
which is not the less noble for being humble.
It says : " Meeting with a pious young me-
chanic who had lately read the ' Memoir of
Eormand Smith,' he spoke to this effect:
' Several years I have given about one-
fourth of the profits of my calling to charita-
ble purposes, and have merely saved enough
to keep my little family above want, should
I be called away by death ; and so soon as I
reach that point, instead of giving one-fourth
I will give all my profits, and thus follow
Kormand Smith, as he followed Christ ; for
I fully accord with the sentiment expressed
in his memoir.' "

This is an example for the mechanic and
the poor. The passage in Mr. Smith's me-
moirs, referred to, is so pertinent that we
cannot forbear quoting it : —

" In regard to pursuing business with the
view of getting property to be used for the
Lord, a volume ought to be written on this
subject. Ohristian men of business do by
no means feel its importance as they ought.
At a time like this, when funds are so much
needed to send the Gospel through the world,
I see not- why young men of enterprise and

62 THE GREAT REFORM.

piety may not and ought not to devote them-
selves to business for the sole purpose of ac-
cumulating means to carry forward the
benevolent operations of the day. There are
some who now act on this principle. The
number ought to be greatly increased.
There ought to be missionary tradesmen and
merchants, just as much as missionary school-
masters and preachers — men prosecuting
business for the great purpose of getting to
give into the treasury of the Lord. Nor can
there be a doubt that all who should act on
this principle would lay up, both for them-
selves and their families, not only a good^
but the lest foundation for a time of need.
It has been thought by some that Mr. Smith
went beyond the demands of Christian duty
in giving so large a portion of his property
to benevolent purposes. Of this he was cer-
tainly the rightful judge. Having made
what he deemed a competent provision for
his wife and children, he felt that what re-
mained was the Lord's, and to him he gave
it ; and though the selfish may wonder, and
the wealthy deem it injudicious, the unrolled
records of eternity, I cannot doubt, will
show that he acted with the soundest Chris-
tian discretion — that he did what was best
for his family, as well as wliat was right and

WHAT SHOtJLD BE THE METHOD? 63

pleasing to his divine Lord. His fatherless
children have a better portion than of silver
and gold ; and their prospects of happiness,
here and hereafter, are far greater than if
they had been left heirs each to an estate of
tens of thousands."

A distinguished civilian says: "I have
for many years adopted the rale of setting
aside a portion of income ' as the Lord hath
prospered me.' I have felt that more than
a tenth was my duty, and I can testify to
the blessed influence of the system. It en-
ables us the better to discriminate between
the various objects — to discover how far we
have denied ourselves for Christ and a per-
ishing world; and benevolence thus be-
comes interwoven with our Christian princi-
ples, our high and Christian duties."

An influential citizen says, the system of
" laying by in store on the flrst day of the
week, as God has blessed us, I have prac-
ticed for several years, and found a blessing
in it. It is God's own plan, and therefore
better than any other. So every one will
find who will but try it. It increases our
charity-fund many fold, without our perceiv-
ing any diminution of capital or income ;
and the fund thus set apart being conse-
crated to the Lord, we are able to distribute

64 THE GEE AT REFORM.

it without grudging, and with a more un-
biased judgment, as occasion arises. I am
one of the witnesses for God, that in this
matter, as in all others, he is good."

The Levites, while they lived on the tithes
of the people, were not exempt from the
duty of giving also ; they gave the tithe of
their tithes. (Num. xviii, 26.) The cases we
are detailing are applicable to clergymen as
well as secular men. And wlien we con-
sider the influence of their example, the
duty becomes inestimably important.

An eminent clergyman says : "I have for
many years had a fixed system of devoting
from one-fifth to a quarter of my income to
religious and charitable uses. I have laid
out my plan at the beginning of each year,
keeping a private account of all donations,
and leaving nothing to mere accident or ex-
cited feeling at the moment. At the end of
about thirty years, during which I have car-
ried on this system, I find my property ma-
terially increased ; and I am surprised to
find, on looking over my accounts, how
many hundreds of dollars I have thus been
permitted to contribute to the cause of benev-
olence."

A prosperous merchant says: "I have
myself acted on this principle for many

WHAT SHOULD BE THE METHOD? 65

years; and have some faith to believe that
spreading before the people the great prin-
ciple of systematic giving, is to be a mighty
instrument in the hands of God for the con-
version of the world."

"We have thus defined, perhaps as mi-
nutely as is desirable, the outlines of a right
method, and exemplified it by instances from
actual life— the best possible proofs. The
duty we have been expounding is not then
a mere hypothesis — apparently reasonable
on paper, but inapplicable amid the details
and uncertainties of business life. Far other-
wise : it extended through all the business
relations of the Jewish commonwealth ; it is
now in actual operation in the counting-
houses of successful merchants, who derive
from it not merely a large means of use-
fulness, but new guarantees of safety and
success in their pursuits, and the inexpressi-
ble enjoyments of habitual charity combined
with more elevated business aims and more
hopeful business prospects — the counting-
house itself being converted into a religious
sanctuary, and the usually sordid walks of
gain made pathways heavenward. Just
here, then. Christian business man, would
we have you arrest your attention from any
diversion from the subject, and, obeying the

66 THE GREAT KEFOEM.

dictates alike of your conscience and your
reason, and, we hope also, of your generous
heart, bring yourself to the grand, the final
determination which shall ennoble your
whole life, by " turning many to righteous-
ness," and make your eternity to "shine as
the brightness of the firmament," and " as
the stars forever and ever." And heeding
thus the lesson of this chapter, allow us,
before you lay down the book, to urge upon
your attention a few more specific counsels
on the subject.

CHAPTEK lY.

FUETHEK SUGGESTIONS ON THE SUBJECT.

"What has been thus practicable to the few
men we have mentioned, is practicable, in
some modified form, to all Christian business
men. And what would be the result if these
examples were extended into a universal
habit of the Church ? An archangel might
well rejoice to tell!

There is probably no Christian man now
reading these lines who does not see at
once the propriety, the sublimity even, of a

FURTHER SUGGESTIONS ON THE SUBJECT. 67

life thus regulated and thus consecrated ;
yet, alas ! how many will close our volume
without claiming for themselves this blessed-
ness ! The difficulty is in beginning so novel
a course, for when once begun, it is seldom or
never abandoned ; the sense of its obligation
and blessedness grows with its growth.
Would you, Christian reader, begin it ? If
so, accept a few words of counsel precisely
at this point — the point in your life which,
perhaps, next to the hour of your conver-
sion, will be gratefully recollected among
the reminiscences of your eternity.

First. By the aid of that gracious Spirit
that now inspires the desire, resolve that it shall
at once become the rule of your life. You see
its propriety — ^you know you should so live —
waver not then, prevaricate not with your
own conscience. " Be not deceived ; God is
not mocked. Whatsoever a man soweth
that shall he also reap. He that soweth to
the flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption.
He that soweth to the Spirit shall of the
Spirit reap life everlasting." " Believest
thou this?" then put your property, your
business, on the altar of such a consecration.
You know the temptations to worldliness, and
even to avarice, which you sufi'er from the
present manner of conducting your business ;

68 THE GREAT KEFORM.

perhaps they have already a perilous hold
upon you ; unless counteracted by a decisive
resolution, they may at last " drown your soul
in perdition." Decide then to escape, and
decide now.

Second. Having made the resolution, how
down hefore God and consecrate it with
prayer. Review it, and its many conse-
quences, on your knees before Him with
whom you have to do. Be not in haste
there, for this is a question of life-long inter-
est to you and yours ; repent there of the
remissness of the past ; supplicate there the
sanctifi cation of your heart from the selfish-
ness that would oppose your new purpose ;
be sure that what you now do is done by the
grace and for the glory of Him who, " though
he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor,
that ye through his poverty might be rich."

Third. Take, then, pen and paper, and
sketch out and sign with your name S09ne
dejlnite plan, something like that which we
have stated, and which was adopted by the
devoted Cobb. Let it be indefinite in no
point where you can be exact; leave yourself
no temptation to evade it in the future.

Fourth. Having gone thus far, proceed at
once, if possible, to give it some practical
effect. " Go forth from before the Lord " to

FURTHER SUGGESTIONS ON THE SUBJECT. 69

do some good in his name. Go and place an
offering on his altar, give a donation to his
poor, or to some of the charities of his
Church. Do it at once, however small the
offering may necessarily be. Thus far you
have been strangling your foe — your evil
selfishness — give it nov7 a blow that shall
strike it down at once. This is to be a
memorable day in your religious history ;
crown it, then, with some noble, some befit-
ting deed. You will thus find yourself not
only resolving to enter upon a high path of
life, but already walking in it.

Fifth. As soon as may be, take a scrupu-
lous account of your husiness^ that you may
adjust your charities to it, and ever af-
ter endea/Dor to heejp your accounts in such
manner that you will he ahle to heej) to
your plan of giving. This will be "keeping
your books" for the great account of the
judgment.

Sixth. Having thus fully adopted the right
course, be sure to maintain it in the right
spirit. By faith alone in Him who gave
himself for you, can you yet be saved ; by
faith alone can even this consecration of
your secular life be made salutary to your-
self. But though you cannot be saved by
your works, still remember that you shall be

70 THE GREAT KEFOEM.

judged by them. They are not the cause,
but the evidence of your salvation. Rejoice
not in them; but yet rejoice, yes, and with
an unutterable joy, that you can see in them
the evidences of the grace which your heav-
enly Father has imparted to your soul,
and by which alone the desire and the
strength for such a consecration have been
given you. In this respect a good man may
have joy of his steps, for they are directed
of the Lord. This joy is now yours; take it
and be thankful.

And now, walking from day to day in
this better path, in how many respects life
becomes new to you ! How its sordid cares
are sanctified and relieved by a holy use !
You live and toil now for some purpose —
a purpose that links your lowliest efforts
with the great plan of the divine mercy.
Ton find at your command the means of
constant well-doing. You can bless the
widow and the fatherless. You can scatter
among the poor, among those who are ready
to perish, and even to the ends of the world,
by the embassadors of your Lord, blessings
however humble. And, above all, you have
in your life the daily proofs that God abides
with you, " working in you to will and to do
of his own good pleasure !" Soon will you

FURTHER SUGGESTIONS ON THE SUBJECT. 71

find that it is a privilege thus to live ; and in
that hour when the true import of life is un-
vailed to the departing soul, you will feel
that, by the grace of God, you have not
lived in vain. In that inevitable hour, such
a consciousness will be worth all the treasures
of the universe ! Be assured, O be assured —
seize on and hold fast through life the assur-
ance— that the grace of God, if it is now
determining your hesitating resolution, is
crowning yoij with one of its greatest bene-
dictions— is vouchsafing to your future life,
so long as you are faithful to your vows,
one of its most comfortable proofs of your
acceptance with God through Jesus Christ
our Lord. Can you then hesitate ?

THE GREAT REFORM.

PAET lY.

WHAT WOUI.D BE
THE STANDAKD OF CHRISTIAIT BENEF-
TCENCE WHAT IT SHOULD BE?

CHAPTEK I.

PUBLIC ADVANTAGES.

Thus far we have seen what is the actual
standard of heneficence in the Church, and
what it should he. Let ns now briefly
glance at what would he some of the results^
puhlic and personal^ were it what it should
he. Among the former may be enumerated
the following : —

First. It would secure a more equal dis-
tribution of the pecuniary hurdens of the
Church. By the present casual way of
giving, a comparatively few liberal men
sustain most of our religious charities.
Exact statistics illustrating this fact would,
we doubt not, astonish the Church; but
without such statistics the general fact is
unquestionable. They have been ascer

PUBLIC ADVANTAGES. 73

tained, so far as we know, in but one
instance. A late address of the General
Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in
the United States of America, to the min-
isters. Churches, and the people under their
care, on the subject of systematic benevo-
lence, says : —

" The total number of Churches reported
was two thousand eight hundred and
seventy-nine.

" The total number of Churches reported as
having contributed to the Board of Domestic
Missions, was one thousand three hundred
and twenty-two, being one hundred and
twelve less than one-half the whole number
of Churches.

" The number reported as having contrib-
uted to the Board of Foreign Missions was
one thousand and sixty-four, being three
liundred and seventy-one less than half, and
one hundred and four over one-third the
total number of Churches.

" To the Board of Education seven hundred
and forty-nine Churches contributed, being
thirty more than one-fourth of the whole.

"And four hundred and forty Churches
made contributions to the Board of Publica-
tion, being thirty-nine less than one-sixth of
the whole number.

74 THE GREAT REFORM.

Such is the inequality in this respect,
between individual Churches, in one of
the most enlightened and competent de-
nominations of the country ; it is doubtless
much greater between the individual mem-
bers of the contributing Churches them-
selves.

Those who afford the chief support of
missions, it will be found, also support
mostly the domestic expenses of the Church,
and give most liberally to the poor ; and
the missionary statistics of the Methodist
Episcopal Church show the most surprising
inequalities, the contributions in different
conferences range from fifty cents to two
cents and two mills per member, some of
the more wealthy conferences giving the
lowest average sums.

Doubtless a very large proportion of
Church-members live in almost total neglect
of the great duty we have been discussing,
thus sinning against their own souls, impair-
ing the energy of the Church, and burden-
ing the comparatively few who are faithful.
But upon the system we advocate there
would be no necessity for this. Every
member of the Church, young and old,
rich and poor, could have the means in
store to meet their proportion of each

PUDLIG ADVANTAGES. ' 75

benevolent enterprise in its turn. All
would do their part, and all share the bless
ing.

Second. It would immensely augment the
resources of the Church. We use a strong
phrase, but use it soberly. All ought to
give proportionately to the comparatively
few who now give all. "What would then
be the growth of our charities ? All who
do already give, ought to give proportion-
ately to those who give most. "What a rev-
olution would this alone make ! "What a
revolution would it make in all the
finances of the Church ! Such a result
would be inevitable on the principle of sys-
tematic benevolence which we have advo-
cated.

The average missionary contributions of
the Methodist Episcopal Church per mem-
ber, for 1854, were twenty-nine cents two
mills; while those of the "Wesleyan Method-
ists, England, for the same year, were about
one dollar twenty-nine cents per member,
more than four times as much as ours ; and
yet they are in general a poorer people, and
have all their other ecclesiastical expenses
on a more extensive scale than are ours.
Our brethren in Ireland, in the midst of
their heroic struggles for the support of the

76 * THE GREAT REFORM.

cause at home, gave for the year mentioned
an average of one dollar forty cents per
member for missions. "Why all this differ-
ence? They have been trained to more
thorough habits of liberality than we.
What then must be the result, if such a
habit of conscientious and systematic liber-
ality as we have proposed were generally
adopted? Our missionary receipts for last
year hardly exceeded half a cent a week for
each member ! One cent a week would
have afforded $376,000 ; two cents a week,
$752,000; five cents a week, $1,880,000.
Let us not stagger at such calculations.
They but approximate what we must yet
realize if we would save the world ! Does
any sober-minded reader doubt that the
principles we have advocated would secure
for missions (besides our other present ex-
penses) an average of five dollars per mem-
ber per annum ? The grand aggregate of
$3,763,000 would then be yearly cast into
the scale of the world's moral destiny by
the bond of our single Church ! A result
which (such, alas ! is our present stinted be-
nevolence) most readers will contemplate
with a smile of incredulous astonishment.
Spread abroad in the Church legitimate
views of its duty, and the time will come

PUBLIC ADVAITTAGES. 77

when even this sublime calculation will be
no longer a marvel.*

Third. It would afford more reliable cal-
culations for our philanthi'opic plans — a
consideration of no small importance, as
all who are officially charged with such
plans well know. Economy in the use of
means, well-directed application of them,
the largest results from them, depend much
upon the forecast of those who manage
them. Our religious philanthropies are be-
coming matters of such importance that,
like the expenditures of states, they need

** Dr. Anderson of the American Board has ascertain-
ed a curious fact, "which shows with how little of con-
scientious principle religious contributions are usually
given. His figures prove conclusively, that the amount
subscribed generally is by no means regulated by the
exact ability of the subscribers. Subscriptions are in
convenient sums — in sums which constitute a kind of
unit in our currency. Thus there are three hundred
and thirteen subscriptions of ten cents, four hundred
and forty-eight of twelve and a half cents, only one
hundred and seventy-three between this and twenty-five
cents, but two thousand three hundred and forty-three
of twenty-five cents. There are only one hundred and
thirty-three between twenty-five cents and thirty cents,
but two thousand and eighty-eight of fifty cents, one
hundred and seventy-seven all the way between fifty
cents and a dollar. From one dollar the general rule is
to go to two, from two to three, and so on to ten. These
fucts are suggestive to collectors and agents.

78 THE GREAT KEFOEM. •

the most deliberate calculation. Thej ex-
tend to all parts of the globe, they look to
the most important results, and yet by our
own present standard of liberality they must
be stinted and embarrassed by uncontrolla-
ble liabilities.

Fourth. It would tend to develop all the
other energies of the Church. God has
made his cause in the world dependent
upon our cooperation with him in this
respect as in others. His infinite wisdom
has seen it best that it should be so, and our
limited wisdom cannot but see it thus also.
In proportion as his Church is active and
liberal in any one direction, does its pros-
perity extend in all others. The reflex
effect of foreign missions is so remarkable
and so well known, as to be a recognized
law. Such a fact as a Church active with
the missionary spirit, and otherwise spiritu-
ally dead, is now inconceivable ; such a fact
as a Church conscientiously and systemati-
cally consecrating its money to the cause of
God, and yet not consecrated itself to him
in all its interests, would be alike incon-
ceivable. By the systematic liberality -for
which we plead, all the instrumentalities of
religion would be indefinitely advanced ;
Churches would be multipHed, Sunday-

PUBLIC adva:ntages. 79

schools incre^ised, City Missions and col-
portage extended ; Bibles, Tracts, and other
religious publications scattered on a scale
which we would hardly dare now to pre-
dict, could we even conceive it. The min-
istry, better supported, would be more fully
replenished; debts would not hang like
dead weights upon our Churches; our
institutions of education would no longer
languish for support ; the Church, in fine,
would show, in its every movement, the
mighty energy of its new revolution.

Fifth. With such renovation at home, and
increased efforts abroad, how soon would it
' put the whole moral world in a state of siege f
Turn again to our introductory chapter ; it
was far from irrelevant, though not on the
particular topic of this essay: meditate
again the prospect of the world as there
viewed, and then suppose the financial revo-
lution in the Church which we have dis-
cussed to be in full effect. Would you not.
Christian parent, in descending to your
grave, commit to your children the hope of
the immediate salvation of the world?
The most formidable barriers, as we have
shown, are thrown down, and the world
is opening for the march of the Church ;
the difficulty is no longer without, it is
6

80 THE GREAT REFORM.

within. She has but to put forth her
strength and conquer.

Sixth. Such a reform, with its sublime
consequences, would tend much to stop the
vnouths of scoffers. Tliere is too much rea-
son yet for the reproaches which the Church
suffers from the world ; Christian men are
not enouo^h distino^uished from worldino^s on
'Change, in the mart, and in the self-indul-
gences of life. Whatever their pretensions
may be in the pew, the vestry meeting, or
the closet, they too generally grasp at the
world, like men who profess only to be of it.
Confirmed avarice is not unfrequently seated
prominently, sometimes officially, in the
Church; There are men bearing the name
of Christ in nearly all denominations ; men
of competence if not of wealth, who, bej^ond
the expense of their own accommodation in
the Church, give nothing whatever for the
great and struggling interests of religion in
the world. Poverty knocks in vain at their
doors; the widow and the fatherless perish
in their vicinity unheeded, or it may be
unknown. The faithful few who go forth to
gather into Sunday schools or city missions
the thousands of neglected children or out-
cast men and women, look in vain to them
for aid. " How dwelleth the love of God "

PERSONAL ADVANTAGES. 81

in such men ? What are they but practical
libels on the Church; and their lives, but
practical jests at the moral wretchedness of
the world ? What defense have we against
the scorn of godless men at such examples ?
Assuredly new light, new convictions on the
the right use of property by Christian men,
are needed throughout the Church; and until
they prevail in such manner that a covet-
ous man shall find the floor of the sanctuary
burn beneath his feet, and its altars every-
where pronouncing him an anathema mar-
anatha^ the scorn of the world will not cease
against us.

CHAPTEE n.

PERSONAL ADVANTAGES.

And now, having shown the importance of
the subject, defined its obligation and
method, and enumerated some of its public
advantages, let us bring the great question
more directly home to our hearts by con-
sidering its more personal motives. We have
anticipated a few of these, having found it
opportune to urge them at the conclusion of

82 THE GREAT EEFORM.

some of our arguments ; but " line upon line
and precept upon precept" would nut be
irrelevant in a plea like this.

First. One of the most irrrportsmt personal
advantages of tlie course we have recom-
mended, would be its tendency to elevate our
ordinary secular life. "What is life — what
is the solution of the problem of life ? is the
worse than idle question uttered often by the
philosopher as well as the sentimentalist.
Life is not a problem, much less an illusion,
as many have profanely dreamed. It is, with
the lowliest of us, a mighty and an obvious real-
ity, full of meaning, and, if we will, full of
hope and full of moral glory. It is a proba-
tion through which, by the discipline of
duties and sufferings, the grace of our heav-
enly Father would conduct us to destinies of
endless felicity. The subtilties of the philos-
opher and the ideals of the poet on the
subject are but reveries: he only solves the
problem, whether in the palace or the hovel,
who fully avails himself of his opportunities
by " doing the duty nearest to him," and
seizing upon all others as they come in their
turns ; and he also is the man that stands
exempt, in the consciousness, healthfulness,
and wisdom of his existence, from the mysti-
cal or rather the morbid anxieties of life that

PERSONAL ADVANTAGES. 83

render it so dark a problem to many who
sicken under its irksomeness, even while
enriched with its best opportunities.

But what is life as exemplified by most of
the world ? What but a moral insanity, in
which its means are ravenously pursued
with almost total forgetfulness of its ends?
If an angel should light upon this planet,
previously unaware of the conditions of life
here, what would be his astonishment at the
spectacle ! He would see a race having the
noblest intellectual and moral capacities,
pursuing, with only here and there an excep-
tion, a course that has in it no moral dignity,
no moral import whatever — rushing to the
precipice of death, but on the way thither bus-
ied only in grasping at bubbles in the air —
the intellect cultivated mostly for the short-
lived advantages of gain or ambition ; the
claims of morality enforced by the bayonet,
prisons, the gallows, mostly for the facilities
which public order affords to the pursuits of
individual selfishness, or at least worldliness —
the great men of the earth, at the head of the
nations, usually the most forgetful of the
divine sovereignty which is over them, and
which will hold them to a terrible account —
the lowlier masses mostly self-abandoned to
the indulgence of their mere instincts.

84 THE GREAT REFORM.

Meanwhile divine truth lifts up its voice
amid the general delirium almost in vain.
Providential chastisements — pestilence, war,
famine, revolutions — incessantly warn and
strike the maddened millions, but reclaim,
alas ! how few. The celestial visitor might
fain spread his wings in dismay, and seek in
other worlds to forget the astonishing sight.
Generation after generation thus passes away,
each individual man (with the exception of
the comparatively few who are " wise unto
salvation ") finding only at death that his life
has been a dream — or worse, a very mad-
ness.

The philosopher and the poet — sick at
heart with the amazing spectacle, and yet
godless themselves — turn away from it to
melancholy meditations on the " mystery
of life" — the appalling incongruity of the
scene. It is not a mystery, we repeat;
God has not so ordained it. Its "problem,"
so called, is a great practical sophism which
has overspread and overthrown the world^
but the refutation of which is ceaselessly ut-
tered by the united voices of nature, reason,
and revelation. The cause is obvious — the
remedy is equally obvious. Let men but
betake themselves to the Bible, they will
there — the most simple-minded of them —

PERSONAL ADVANTAGES. 85

learn the true significance of life as a pro-
bation ; let them adopt its precepts of duty,
(intelligible to all,) and consistency and dig-
nity immediately crown their lowliest spheres
of toil or suffering ; let them universally do
so, and the whole appalling spectacle would
be changed. Life, in its humblest duties
and trials, and also its severest catastrophes,
would become relieved, and even beautified,
by ofiices of mutual charity, by its moral
significance, and by the speedy extinction
of its worst deformities.

This general spectacle of the world is
made up of individual examples. On the
one hand we see the demagogue sacrificing
ease and conscience itself in the struggle for
■power, not through patriotism but selfish-
ness. Does he reach it? His life is then
crowded with anxieties, and rancor, and
cares, and above all with self-accusations for
its self-prostitution ; he sinks into the grave
at last, and all is lost except a temporary
notoriety, now totally unavailable to him
amid the solemn destiny to which he has
gone, but which he recklessly neglected.
On the other hand, we see the money-maker
spending his days in the restless struggle of
business — the hazards of speculations, com-
petitions, circumventions. The ingenious,

86 THE GEE AT REFORM.

but not the less guilty frauds of trade — what
havoc do they make of the peace of the
heart and the moral designs of life? He
succeeds, he has got even all the resources
which can possibly minister to the real en-
joyment of existence ; does he now relax
his endeavors? does he bethink himself of
what even reason or nature, independently
of revelation, would dictate to him as an ap-
propriate life ? 'No ; the delirium is still
upon him; he adds acre to acre, stock to
stock ; the accumulation may become so great
as to be a scarcely manageable burden, and
obviously beyond what can ever be applied
to the real purposes of his life, and still he
struggles on and on ; often, even in advanced
life, he will deny himself the very ends of
wealth in his insane desire to accumulate its
means. At last comes an event that he, in
his eager avarice, scarcely ever anticipated
as possible to himself. Death confronts him :
he is surprised as from a dream, and " fear
comes upon him, and trembling which
maketh all his bones to shake." With him
too now all is lost! His last view of life is
to see that it is a failure. In his blind self-
ishness he has, down to this hour, lost sight
of its legitimate purposes. He leaves his
accumulated treasures, perhaps to ruin his

PERSONAL ADVANTAGES. * bi

children, as tliey have ruined himself, and
passes away, a waif upon that tide which
waits for no man, but bears onward alike its
freights and its wrecks forever. Such is the
ordinary life of men. But, men of God!
this is not the true life — this is utter folly —
this is moral insanity — contradicted, cried
out against by all the voices of truth. Y^ou
cannot so live ; you are here to prepare for
a higher world, and all your pursuits are a
denial of your faith in so far as they tend
not thither.

And now, giving your ordinary life this
nobler tendency, by the consecration of your
business in the manner we have described,
how" does it come forth redeemed from the
sordid, demoniacal madness we have contem-
plated ! How do even its humblest cares
become dignified by its better ends ! How
are its struggles sustained by the noblest
moral motives ! how its temptations to sanc-
tioned frauds repelled ! how the pleasures of
its gains enhanced by the higher pleasures
of charity and usefulness ! It has a meaning
in it now; and what a noble meaning! a
meaning that ends not in the grave, but
reaches forward indefinitely, perhaps for-
ever!

Such is the life which your Bible teaches ;

88 THE GREAT REFORM.

can jou hesitate to choose it? Even your
selfishness, it would seem, should commend
it to you.

Second. Such a consecration of property
would be one of the purest sources of happi-
ness to any ordinary life — a thought already
anticipated, but worthy of further allusion.
Man's happiness is in his own consciousness,
and must therefore be derived chiefly from
himself — from the exercise of his faculties,
and affections. The external world, by yield-
ing him objects of pursuit, can yield him
happiness principally by affording occasions
for the activity of his faculties and affec-
tions. This is not the statement of a mere
common-place, but of a great law of our
nature, the misapprehension of which is the
cause of most of the misdirected aims of
men — for all these aims are in pursuit of
happiness. ]^ow the very constitution of
our nature shows that the Creator designed
that our benevolent affections should be
among the very chief sources of our enjoy-
ment. They are the most attractive, the
most beautiful, and often the most sublime ex-
hibitions of the human soul. Love produces
even heroism oftener than -do the loftier
passions. The benevolent affections are char-
acterized by one very marked fact, namely,

PERSONAL ADVANTAGES. 89

tliat their excess is less liable to evil than
that of other powers of our nature, not ex-
cepting the highest moral ones. The animal
appetites ruin the world bj their excess;
the sterner moral faculties become, in their
excess, sources of terrible evil. Even con-
science itself has ravaged the world w^ith
bigotry, persecution, and martyrdom. But
the benevolent affections, in their very
errors, are comparatively harmless ; and the
man in whom they are extreme, in wdiom
their strength becomes weakness, is usually
recognized as amiable in his very fault —
not because he is justifiable in it, or because
it may not be mischievous, but because of
the essential beauty of the virtue itself — be-
cause we instinctively feel that he errs on
the best side, and tliat a world, made up of
such men, could not but be blessed, notwith-
standing all their weaknesses — that love, in
fine, is, in its various forms of the domestic
affections, friendship. Christian communion,
charity to the poor, patriotism, and philan-
thropy, tlie great remedy of the evils of the
world — is summarily "the fulfilling of the
law" of the universe.

But enough of this: we have to do with
the practical application of it.* Now the
theory of secular life that we have been ad-

90 THE GREAT EEFOEM. '

vocatiug, proposes to give these benevolent
affections a chief sway through the daily
pursuits of the man. Benevolence is to
take the place of avarice ; the thought of
others to displace the undue thought of self;
the end, and not the mere means, to claim
the attention. A man who thus lives will
have a good conscience respecting his life,
without which there can be no inward com-
fort. If he has done any wrong in his past
business — a wrong now beyond restitution
— ^he will find in this course the best relief
to his conscience, next to penitence before
his God. And then who can describe the
blessedness, to even a wounded spirit, of the
consciousness that the widow and the father-
less child ; the aged and the helpless, the
offcast and the benighted, it may be even in
the ends of the earth ; the sick, and those
that are ready to perish, are blessed by the
daily toil of his corrected life? Such a man,
pardoned of his sins through the only Medi-
ator, will know what is the highest enjoy-
ment of life. His food will be sweeter be-
cause it is shared by the destitute ; his sleep
will be sound with the tranquillity of a
" good conscience ;" the endearments of his
family witl be enhanced by the knowledge
that other and less fortunate homes are

PERSONAL ADVANTAGES. 91

made happy by his charities; toil will be
lightened by the sense of its generous aims ;
drawbacks in business felt with less selfish
anxiety, and death itself comforted with the
recollection of a benevolent life.

Third. Such a life can hardly fail to be a
great Uessing to your family^ especially in
its influence on your children. One thing
is very clear — that the usual course of
leaving estates to children is, in this country
at least, generally defeated, or if successful,
yet morally ruinous. Our successful busi-
ness men are not commonly men of heredi-
tary wealth ; a good training, with but a
moderate financial outfit, is acknowledged
to be the best security of a young man's
success ; and the youth who in this country
needs the fruits of his father's business in
order to sustain his own, can hardly be
judged competent for any business. The
plan which we have recommended will,
however, admit of your own capital being
transferred to other hands when you have
done with it, and its transference to your
children will be the safer for their having
been trained under the influence of your
benevolent example.

The influence of such an example on
children cannot but be salutary. They will

92 THE GREAT REFORM.

see the moral beauty and the pleasures of
benevolence, especially if they are made, as
they often should be, the vehicles of your
bounty to others. Children frequently get
ineradicable prejudices against religion from
the close, selfish habits, the unchristian
worldliness of their nominally Christian
parents. Many a child has, through such
an influence, gone from the parental door
down to the gate of perdition. The example
we are recommending would be a demon-
stration of religious principle which could
hardly be resisted. " My father lived and
toiled for others; he sacrificed the self-
ishness that actuated all the world around
him, for the poor and for a good conscience ;
he did this because he feared God — that is
proof enough, whatever may have been his
failings, that his religion was sincere, and
was a power within him." Such a convic-
tion as this, deep in the heart of a child, is
worth. Christian father, a thousand meta-
physical arguments for your faith. Enter
then upon this better life, and train your
children in it after you ; you may then claim
the promise that " the generation of the
righteous shall be blessed."

Fourth. It will be likely to secure the
prospering hlessing of God upon your husi-

PERSONAL ADVANTAGES. 93

ness y it will inevitably do so unless ne sees
that you shall be better blessed by adver-
sity. "He that hath pity upon the poor
lendeth unto the Lord, and that which he
hath given will he pay him again." St.
Paul expressly recognizes this doctrine in
his plea for pecuniary charity, addressed to
the Corinthians : " God is able to make all
grace abound toward you, so that ye, having
all sufficiency in all things, may abound to
every good work." -It will promote such
habits of thrift and circumspection as must
tend to security and success in your affairs.
This may seem a selfish motive ; but, in
connection with the end proposed, it is
far otherwise. In an essay on Scriptural
Benevolence, which now lies before us,
an anonymous writer states of himself
that he commenced business and prosecuted
it in the usual way till he lost $900, which
was all he^ was worth, and found himself
in debt $1,100. Being led by his trials,
through God's grace, to trust, as he hoped,
in Christ, he, at the age of forty, determined
to take God's word for his guide in his busi-
ness, and consecrated his earnings to the
Lord. The first year he gave $12. For
eighteen years the amount was increased
above twenty-five per cent., and the last

94 THE GREAT EEFORM.

year he gave $850 ; and he says he did it
easier than, during the first year, he paid
the $12. Besides, though with nothing but
his hands to depend on when he began this
course, he paid the whole debt of $1,100
wHth interest, though it took him nine years
to do it. Jacob went out from his father's
home *' with his staff," a poor man ; but at
Bethel he vowed to give God the tenth, of
all that God should bestow on him. Com-
mencing thus God blessed him; and in
twenty years he returned with great riches.
"We may add the following testimony
from the experience of an intelligent mer-
chant, who says : — " In consecrating my
life anew to God, aware of the ensnaring
influence of riches, and the necessity of de-
ciding on a plan of charity before wealth
should bias my j udgment, I adopted the fol-
lowing system : ' I decided to balance my
accounts, as nearly as I could, every month ;
and reserving such portion of profits as
might appear adequate to cover probable
losses, to lay aside, by entry on a benevo-
lent account, one-tenth of the remaining
profits, great or small, as a fund for benevo-
lent expenditure, supporting myself and
family on the remaining nine-tenths. I
further determined, that if at any time my

PERSONAL ADVANTAGES. 95

net profits, that is, profits from which clerk-
hire and- store-expenses had' been deducted,
should exceed $500 in a month, I would
give twelve and a half per cent. ; if over
|T00, fifteen per cent. ; if over $900, seven-
teen and a half per cent.; if over $1,100,
twenty per cent.; if over $1,300, twenty-
two and a half per cent.; thus increasing
the proportion of the whole, as God should
prosper, until, at $1,500, I should give
twenty -five per cent., or $375 a month.
As capital was of the utmost importance to
my success in business, I decided not to
increase the foregoing scale until I had
acquired a certain capital, after which I
would give one-quarter of all net profits,
great or small; and on the acquisition of
another certain amount of capital, I decided
to give half; and on acquiring what I deter-
mined would be a full sufficiency of capital,
then to give the whole of my net profits.
It is now several years since I adopted this
plan, and under it I have acquired a hand-
some capital, and have been prospered
beyond my most sanguine expectations.
Although constantly giving, I have never
yet touched the bottom of my fund, and
have repeatedly been surprised to find what
large drafts It would bear. True, during
1

96 THE GREAT REFORM.

some months I have encountered a salutary
trial of faith, when this rule has led me to
lay by the tenth while the remainder j^roveci
inadequate to my support ; but the tide has
soon turned, and with gratitude I have re-
cognized a heavenly hand more than making
good all my past deficiencies. This system
has been of great advantage to me, enabling
me to feel that my life is directly employed
for God. It has afforded me happiness in
enabling me to portion out the Lord's money,
and has enlisted my mind more in the prog-
ress of Christ's cause. Happy privilege !
which the humblest may enjoy, of thus as-
sociating the common labors of life with the
grateful service of the Saviour, and of making
that which naturally leads the heart from
God subserve the highest spiritual good.
This system has saved me from commercial
dangers, by leading me to simplify busi-
ness and avoid extensive credits. It has
made me a better merchant ; for the month-
ly pecuniary observations which I have been
wont to take, though often quite laborious,
have brought me to a better knowledge of
the state of my affairs, and led me to be
more cautious and prudent than I other
wise should have been. I be! i eye this sys-
tem tends to enlarge the Christian's views,

PERSONAL ADVANTAGES. 97

increase his disinterestedness, and lead him
to shun the tricks of trade. My own ob-
servation also confirms the belief, that
even warm-hearted Christians must deter-
mine beforehand on the system they will
adopt if they would secure the benefits of
the Gospel plan to themselves, under the
grace and providence of God, or its happy
results to the cause of Christ."

Fifth. It will guard you against the perils
of avanrice. A thoughtful man cannot read
the Scriptures without being struck by the
peculiar emphasis with which covetousness
is denounced. We need not here quote ex-
amples ; they will recur to every reader,
and we have already referred to them re-
peatedly: Unquestionably our Lord and his
apostles looked upon this vice as having a
malignity and a peril peculiarly its own.
We have already shown that it is referred
to by the Scriptures as summarily heathen-
ism— "idolatry." The nominal Christian
who should be found guilty of it, was there-
by placed so entirely out of the ranks of
Christianity as to be undistinguishable from
the mass of the heathen, more so than by
any other vice e^ccept express idolatry ; and
the sin is so repeatedly characterized in this
manner as to show that it was looked upon

98 THE GKEAT REFORM.

as altogether a peculiar enormity. The
covetous man is not only called an " idola-
ter," (that is, a heathen,) but his vice is cat-
alogued among the most abominable turpi-
tudes of Paganism, and this is done over and
over again.*

There was reason for this peculiarity of
the Scriptural denunciation of covetousness,
in its very nature and in its peculiar dangers.

There are three frightful characteristics of
this vice. One is the fact, that more than
any other single vice, however enormous, it
blights the whole circle of the virtues.'
What other sin so much indurates the moral
nature ?

It bei),umbs the conscience, and denies,
almost invariably, to its victim the sense
that accompanies nearly every other vice —
the sense of its guilt. The miser believes
himself right.

It withers the natural affections more than

o <« Covetousness, whicli is idolatry," says St. Paul.
The phrase is a striking one. " Idolatry" was a syno-
nym for heathenism, with all its attendant abomina-
tions. " Covetousness" in the Church was, therefore, in
a sense, the retention of heathenism — "idolatry." It is
notable how specifically this sin is. thus described. In
another epistle Paul says — " This ye know, that no cov-
etous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in
the kingdom of Christ and of God " — i. e. the Church.

PEKSONAL ADVANTAGES. 99

any other vicious influence : children, wife,
parents are not unfrequently allowed to suf-
fer through its grasping closeness.

It adds sometimes to its own inherent
viciousness "something like the guilt of
suicide, by preying upon itself — its misera-
ble victim, apparently hallucinated, depriv-
ing himself of comfortable food, clothing,
and furniture, and reducing himself to ex-
tremity, in order still to save, even when
old age or sickness shows that death is at the
door.

So peculiarly inveterate is this vice, that,
like some reptiles whi»h subsist by killing
others, it not only blights generally the vir-
tues, but it absorbs away many of the other
vices, at least the positive vices. The miser
is seldom a drunkard, or a libertine,- or a
litigator, or even a gambler, because these
vices are too expensive. The drunkard or
the libertine may have individual virtues
left ; he may be capable of charity, of friend-
ship, of patriotism, or even of compunction ;
but the miser usually knows them not. His
vice comes the nearest to the death of the
soul of perhaps any that is practicable to
man.

And to this peculiar malignity we may
impute, perhaps, the other peculiar chara6-

100 THE GKEAT REFOKM.

teristic to which we have alluded, namely,
that it is, apparently, the most irremediable
of vices.

Drunkards, libertines, and other vicious
men are often restored, but who ever knew
a miser reclaimed? The writer of these
pages ,has been in public life forinore than a
quarter of a century, with very numerous
opportunities of observing the fate of crim-
inal men ; he has seen the most offcast
plucked from the very mire of vice, and
restored to virtue and happiness ; he has
seen the penitent and purified murderer
ascend the platfowm of the gallows, with
humble hope through the infinite merit of
Him who saved the thief on the cross ; but
he has never known a single example of the
permanent recovery of a man who has once
abandoned himself to habitual covetousness.
He denies not the possibility of such an ex-
ample, but he has never known one. The
fearful power of the habit may be apparent-
ly broken for a time, under some extraor-
dinary religious influence ; but it almost in-
variably returns, like the expelled demon,
with seven-fold more power, and destroys its
victim.

The peculiar intensity of this passion is,
doubtless, in part owing to its peculiar power '

PERSONAL ADVANTAGES. 101

over the intellectual as well as the moral
nature. No other vice seems to produce so
insidiously, and "yet so surely, that sort of
hallucination called monomania. The miser
is habitually apprehending extreme poverty ;
the calm and majestic power of reason itself
shrivels under the paralyzing vice. Money
loses its character as a means of other good;
it becomes, as we have shown, the end at
which his irrational eagerness aims. He
often sacrifices the ends which he may have
previously obtained by it for the sake of in-
creasing the mere means ; he extends this
sacrifice sometimes to the utmost, and, to
crown the folly of his madness, he clutches
his gains the more fiercely as he declines in
life, and can have less prospect of using
them. Even the agony of death becomes
often but the agony of separation from his
gold. Frightful perversion of heart and in-
tellect !

Yice bears in itself much of its retribution,
and in nothing more than in the fact that its
power over its victim increases with the in-
crease of his sin. God has thus allowed it
to be made terrible ; and in the mental
efibct — the hallucination of this passion — we
see his appalling curse upon it. Perhaps no
sin that is practicable, under our own dis-

102 THE GREAT REFORM.

pensation, comes nearer to being the seal of
an irrevocable reprobation. Flee it, man of
God ! flee it without delay ! Nearly all the
usual conditions of business life, as now pur-
sued, expose you to it ; perhaps it has abeady
begun to bind your soul. Break the chaiu
before it encircles you forever. You may
yet escape. There is great power in the
purpose of the will ; there is mighty power
in the inspired grace of God, even in a
debilitated soul. We have met with the
description of the escape of a caged eagle :
the noble bird had begun to droop under its
confinement ; its keeper resolved to give it its
liberty ; many gathered around to see it
take its flight ; the cage was opened ; it
gazed calmly at the spectators and at the
opened door for a few minutes, as if resign-
edly distrusting its enfeebled powers, then
spreading its wings, fluttered away; but
after circling two or three times in the air
over its late prison, it shot upward toward
the sun till it was lost from sight in the
height of the heavens. So may thy soul
escape from the terrible prison-house of this
evil. Be prompt for the flight ! Pledge
yourself to such a covenant with your God
as we have recommended. Recall those ter-
rible admonitions respecting the dangers of

PERSONAL ADVANTAGES, 103

wealth, with which the JSTew Testament is
interspersed. To most readers they seem lit-
tle more than rhetorical expletives ; and yet
these rigorous sentences on the use and dan-
gers of money are stern and abiding truths.
Heaven and earth may pass away, but one
jot or one tittle will not pass from them.
They may be forgotten, or depreciated as in-
significant common-places; but they will
flame out on the books of the final judgment,
and you will stand or fall by them forever.
Every accumulating dollar is with you
either an instrument of good or a sinking
weight. Are you then prospering — are you
laying up treasure upon . earth — you, the
redeemed child of Him who had not where
to lay his head, and who, though he was
rich, yet for your sake became poor?
Pause, then, and examine your stewardship^-
Perhaps you are old, and descending to your
grave; and yet, through years of accumula-
tion, have not once considered this point, or
estimated how much could be spared from
your just wants for the cause of God.
"Would to God that this word of warning
could arrest you a moment, and direct your
thoughts intently on the question ! A hun-
dred paltry suggestions are now doubtless try-
ing to divert you from it; but 0 ! permit them

104 THE GKEAJT REFORM.

not ; think — think this once on the subject,
and remember, while thinking, that on your
right and on your left, before you and behind .
you, millions are sinking into eternal death —
millions whom yom^ Lord redeemed by the
blood and agony through which you have
hope !

And remember, further, that he that serves
his Lord in the right use of his gains, shall
not fail of a reward in that world to which
those gains can never be carried. Through
the atonement alone can we enter safely that
world ; but our good deeds, sanctified by the
atonement, shall be acceptable unto G6d,
and be crowned with an everlasting " recom-
pense of reward." They may raise thither,
to share and enhance our own blessedness,
many, souls that might otherwise be lost.
Surely, then, he alone is the wise man who
thus invests his property ; with him, its ten-
ure ends not in the grave — he has a fee-simple
in it forever. The Scriptures assert that
" he which soweth sparingly shall reap also
sparingly, and he which soweth bounti-
fully shall reap also bountifully." "They
that be wise shall shine as the brightness of
the firmament; and they that turn many to
righteousness as the stars forever and ever."

We have detailed, somewhat, in the pre-

OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 105

ceding pages, the present results of Scrip-
tural beneficence ; but who shall unfold its
consequences beyond the grave? "This
life," says some one, " is but the early spring
of our existence. The utmost reach of our
present destiny is this alone — to sow the seed
of happiness and wait the -summer morning
of its resurrection, for the harvest is the end
of the world. Let us be intent on this great
end, and aim meanwhile to break the fallow
ground, stir up the loosened soil, and sow be-
side all waters, knowing that we shall reap
if we faint not, some thirty, some sixty, and
some a hundredfold."

CHAPTEK III.

OBJECTIONS ANSWERED.

We have endeavored to comprehend in the
preceding chapters, the main points of this
great subj.ect. Many objections to the
methodical beneficence for which we plead
have been indirectly anticipated, especially
in our enumeration of its advantages ; but
we would refer to some of them more
distinctly.

First. It is sometimes said that such a cov-

106 THE GREAT EEFOKM.

enanted plan of life looks too much like har-
gmning with God — that it turns religion into
a commercial transaction, on tlie principle of
the quid jpro quo between the good man and
his Lord. Doubtless some very frank-heart-
ed Christians entertain this objection; it is
not at first view without a slight plausibility.
But can it bear a momentary examination ?
Is not the whole Christian life an analogous
covenant with God ? And is not this plea but
a special application of that covenant to a
very special case which is found liable to be
specially exceptionable to it, through the
peculiar besetments of worldly business?
Has it not always been recognized as well and
even necessary for good men thus to set a
special guard upon their besetting liabilities ?
Do not the Scriptures invite us continually
to such covenants with God? Does man
repent, believe, deny himself, or take one step
in the Christian life, but that he may escape
'the wrath to come, and receive at last " the
recompense of reward." And if it be insist-
ed that the love of holiness, for itself alone,
is the only legitimate motive to the Christian
life, even in the yet unholy but penitential
mind that is turning from sin unto righteous-
ness— still does not this very motive itself
apply, with all-commanding force, to such a

OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 107

consecration of property and business as we
have advanced? If not looking to the final
reward, still for the present enjoyment of a
holy life, what direction of your secular affairs
could be more desirable ? It is useless to argue
further on a point so obvious.

Second. A more formidable objection is,
that I am in debt. Should I not pay off my
honest debts before I put my property thus
under contribution for charitable purposes ?
There are cases in which undoubtedly you
should; but "be not deceived," "God is not
mocked;" and there is often 'in this sort of
reasoning a most sophistical and self-de-
praving mockery of God. A man in ex-
tensive business may easily continue to be
all the time in debt : so. far as his outstand-
ing liabilities are concerned, he will most
probably be so, and yet may be always rich.
Can he thus evade his duty to the perish-
ing ? His own conscience will save us the
necessity of reasoning here with him. He
would be quick to detect any similar fallacy
in the transactions of his customers with
himself; let^ him be aware that God will,
s€)oner or later, detect it and expose it in his
own case.

Such are not really instances of debt; but
in real instances how should -our plan apply?

108 THE GREAT REFORM.

We think there can be but little difficulty
on the part of a right-minded man in deter-
mining the question. Where he is doing
business on borrowed capital, the terms upon
which he has borrowed it must guide him.
If his charities do not interfere with his terms
of payment (of both interest and principal)
why should he excuse himself? And what
difficulty can there be in the accommoda-
tion of his plan of giving to any such higher
or prior obligations ? Of course he cannot
give as much as if he were unclogged by
debt — the blessedness and pleasure of a larger
liberality he may not yet allow himself — but
he can do something ; he ought to do some-
thing ; and to do it systematically will be a
relief, rather than an embarrassment to his
j)eculiar circumstances. The point for him
to determine is not thS obligation to give,
but how to accommodate his liabilities to
this obligation.

There is but one case of indebtedness
which, we think, entirely cancels for the
time being the obligation of giving, and
that is insolvency itself, wherever it is real,
though through the kindness of creditors it
may not be open, and subject to ife usual
embarrassments. In such circumstances
justice must take precedence of mercy.

OBJECTIONS AISSWERED. ' 109

In fine, the only question growing out of
the liabilities of indebtedness concerns the
duty of giving, not the method of giving.
If the obligation to give at all remains, then
the plan we have recommended comes in,
we repeat, as a relief to the obligation ; and
it has more advantages for a man under the
supposed liaibilities than for any other.

Third. Beguile not yourself, Christian
brother, with the thought that posthumous
charity will excuse a duty like the present.
We would not be inconsiderate, even in so
plain and urgent a matter. We will admit
that there may be some cases in which post-
humous liberality is preferable to continuous,
life-long charity ; but they are very extraor-
dinary, and always suspicious.*

Yery few posthumous charities can be
mentioned which would not have been more
beneficent and more economical, if efi'ected
during the life-time and under the guid-
ance, of the donor. Most such charities are
largely wasted or misapplied. The greatest

** Marseilles, in France, was supplied with water by a
citizen, who devoted his whole energy, and lived like a
miser, that he might provide a large posthumous "fund
for the purpose, in default of the disposition of the pub-
lic authorities to provide it. lie was reproached while
living as a luiser, but honored when dead as a wise
benefactor.

110 THE GREAT REFORM.

mstances of the kind on record are examples
of tlie remark. Except in instances of legal
restriction or personal necessity, the only
possible justification of posthumous liberal-
ity, as a substitute for liberality during Ufe^
is in a single class of cases — such as require
a sum of so great a magnitude that it cannot
be accumulated but through a whole life.
And is this, Christian reader, honestly your
case? If not, entertain not for a momeni
the thought that you can excuse your con
science in the neglect of your present duty.
What ! can we affect to offer with our dying
hand, as a substitute for the omitted duties
of a charitable life, the property that we can
no longer use as our own, and which we only
snatch from our heirs as an apology to God
for our past selfishness ?

Fourth. The difficulty of adjusting any
method of beneficence to certain kinds or
states of business, is sometimes alleged as an
objection. If we were to admit that there
were any real difficulty of the kind, still we
might insist on the conceded duty of some
degree of liberality under any circumstances,
(with the single exception of insolvency,)
and then on the fact that to this degree, at
least, it might be methodically conducted.
But is there any business, or any state of any

OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. Ill

business, wliich a conscientious man cannot
adjust (and even with advantages) to some
sucli plan? A conscientious man cannot
well do business without ascertaining at suit-
able times its real condition ; and this ascer-
tainment, so essential alike in his poverty and
his prosperity, is all that is requisite for the
system we have proposed. Let not, then,
the Christian business man allow himself to
be influenced by such evasions. If he is
resolute to know and to do his duty, they
will be but as cobwebs before him.

Fifth. Without such resolution he will
also find himself beset with another, a less
reasonable but more efiective difficulty — a
vague disjposition to postpone the whole mat-
ter^ with the admission at the same time,
however, that it. is very desirable and right
in itself — that it would be of incalculable
value were it general to the Christian
Church ; that in view of these facts it may
even be, in many cases, a matter of duty,
but still a duty to be attended to sooner or
later, not precisely now. This, Christian
brother, is the reasoning that has betrayed
most lost souls ; it is the universal sophism
against all appeals of truth ; it is the self-
license of nearly all sin in the world. You
had to withstand it when you first turned
8

112 THE GREAT EEFOKM.

yonr feet heavenward. Withstand it now !
The " more convenient time " seldom comes.
Seize, then, the present for the determina-
tion of this great crisis in your life. It will
be to you such a crisis, however humble
your lot; it will make you a ''king and a
priest unto God" in the lowliest sphere of
business. You cannot be a worldly man
while acting in the world from such princi-
ples ; you can no longer even be an ordinary
Christian while giving to your secular life
such an extraordinary consecration. What
live you for, if it be not to excel in the vir-
tues of your faith ? What is the ultimatum
of all life to you, if it be not to give a good
account of it in the "last day?" Why hesi-
tate, then, in a matter like this ? Does it
approve itself to your conscience ? Can you,
then, so treat it without harm to your con-
science ? Do you think it would please your
Lord? Do you doubt that? If it would,
can you neglect it without displeasing Him?
And now, after this review of the entire
subject, does not the whole argument sum
itself up before you as a categorical ques-
tion of duty — of the peace or trouble of your
conscience, and your accountability in " the
great and terrible day" of the Lord? We
have not insisted that the Scriptural rule,

MORAL EXIGENCIES OF OCR COUNTRY. 113

fixplicit as we have shown it to be, is of
literal and invariable application ; personal
circumstances must often qualify its applica-
tion ; but now, that you are closing this dis-
cussion, does not the subject force itself upon
you as practicable, as urgent, as an indis-
pensable duty? Evade it not, then !

" Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do
it with thy might ; for there is no work, nor
device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the
grave whither thou goest."

CONCLUSION.

THE DUTY OF A HIGHER STANDARD OF BENEF-
ICENCE AS INFERRED FROM THE MORAL' EXI-
GENCIES OF OUR COmirTRY.

The sudden outspread of our country within
a few years, with the numerous new and
national consequences attendant upon it, has
hardly been appreciated by most of its citi-
zens— especially by Christian citizens. The
politicians — the demagogues — have taken it
into account, estimating well its bearings on
their party schemes ; but the friends of edu-
cation and religion, they who have in their

114 THE GREAT EEFORM.

hands the most intrinsic elements of the
national well-being, are they conscious of the
stupendous out-growth of the republic — of
the perilous elements of its population — of
the almost inevitable and, we were about to
say, immeasurable disproportion which will
soon exist between that population and the
provisions of education and religion which
we are making for it?

Let us look at the facts. In less than half
a century from this date more than one hun-
dred millions of human souls will be depend-
ent upon these provisions for their intellect-
ual and moral nutriment. They bear now
no adequate relation to the necessities of the
land. Our larger communities are continu-
ally degenerating ; our new territories make
but a dubious moral progress. Ask yourself,
then, the question. Christian citizen, if, after
more than two centuries of religious and
educational efforts, under the most auspi-
cious circumstances of the country, we have
but partially provided for twenty-five mil-
lions, how shall we, in only fifty years, meet
the immensely enlarged moral wants of four
times that number — of a hundred millions f
The question is an appalling one. Our
rapid growth, so much the boast of the
nation, is, be assured, its most imminent

MORAL EXIGENCIES OF OUR COUNTRY. 115

peril — it is too rapid to be healthful ; it is to
be the severest test of both our religion and
our liberties, for the one is the essential con
dition of the other. And yet it cannot, by
any probable contingencies, bo restrained.
It has a momentum which will bear down
and overleap all the ordinary obstructions of
population. We cannot want work, we can-
not want bread ; and where these exist, pop-
ulation must advance as inevitably as the
waters under the laws of the tide. Every
growth of this population provides indeed,
somewhat morally as well as materially, for
the next growth ; but the law of proportion
must fail in this respect, under our rapid ad-
vance and the peculiar elements of our
growth.

When we remind ourselves that so much
of this popular increase is from abroad, that
Europe has been in an " exodus " toward our
shores, that its ignorance and vice — wave
overtopping wave — roll in upon the land,
the danger assumes a startling aspect. In
about forty-six years from this day, our
jpojpulabion shall equal the present aggregate
population of England^ France^ Switzerland,
Spain, Portugal, Sweden and Denmarh. A
step further in the calculation presents a
prospect still more surprising and impressive :

116 THE GKEAT liEFOKM.

in about seventy-six years (we use exact
terms, for we reckon by exact data) from tO'
day, this mighty mass of commingled peo-
ples will have swollen to the stupendous
aggregate of two hundred and forty-six mill-
ions— equaling the present population of all
Europe. According to the statistics of life,
there are hundreds of thousands of our pres-
ent population — one twenty-ninth at least —
who will witness this truly grand result..
What hav« you, friends of education and
religion, what have you to do within that
time? Your present intellectual and moral
provisions for the people are, as we have
said, far short of the wants of your present
twenty-five millions; and in seventy-six
years you must provide for more than
tiDo hundred and twenty additional mill'
ions, and these millions, to a great extent,
composed of semi-barbarous foreigners and
their mistrained children.

Look at the facts, we again repeat. Ponder
them, and let every good man who has a
cent to give or a prayer to offer for his coun-
try, feel that on us, the citizens of the repub-
lic, at this the middle of the nineteenth
century, devolves a moral exigency such as,
perhaps, no other land eve,r saw — an exigen-
cy as full of sublimity as it is of urgency — a&

MORAL EXIGENCIES OF OUK COUNTRY. IIT

grand in its opportunity as it is in its magnifi-
cent peril.

This immense prospective population —
certain,' though prospective — is to be thrown
out, by the almighty hand of Providence,
upon one of the grandest arenas of the world.
Here, on this large continent, bounded in its
distant independence by the Atlantic, the
Pacific, the great tropic gulf, and the Arc-
tic— here, away from the traditional govern-
•ments and faiths and other antiquated checks
of the old world, it is to play its great drama
of destiny — of destiny which, as we have
shown, must, numerically at least, be in sev-
enty-six years as potential as all present
Europe, and how much more potential in all
moral, political, and commercial respects?
What an idea would it be— that of all Europe
consolidated into one mighty, untrammeled
commonwealth, in the highest civilization,
liberty, religious enlightenment, and indus-
trial development — and this mighty revolu-
tion to be completed in seventy-six years
from to-day ! Who would credit the concep-
tion ? Yet our republic will, in that time,
more than realize the stupendous idea, if its
unity and "moral character be not sacrificed.

Look at its field. According to an ofiicial
report, the total area of the United States

118 THE GEE AT REFOKM.

and territories in 1853 was 2,983,153 square
miles. This estimate is found to be even
short of the truth : various official reports
from the Land Office, and the aggregate of
the census, show 3,220,572 square miles.

It is estimated from these facts that the
territorial extent of the republic is nearly
ten times as large as that of Great Britain
and France united, three times as large
as the whole of Britain, France, Austria,
Prussia, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, "Holland
and Denmark combined ; one and a half
times as large as the Russian empire in
Europe ; one-sixth less only than the area
covered by the fifty-nine or sixty empires,
states, or republics of Europe ; of equal ex-
tent with the Poman empire, or that of
Alexander, neither of which is said to have
exceeded three millions of square miles.

"What a theater is this for the achieve-
ments of civilization and religion ! Surely
there should be "giants in these days" to
enact worthily the enterprises of such a
field. And if circumstances make men,
are we not to hope that the consciousness
of this unparalleled destiny will enlarge and
ennoble the intellect, the philanthropy, and
moral energy of the country to a scale of corre-
sponding magnificence — will bring forth sub-

MORAL EXIGENCIES OF OUR COUNTRY. 119

lime examples of public devotion, of talent,
of moral heroism, and of munificence?

Look at one other fact — a most interest-
ing one — the large proportion of our juvenile
population. It is a most impressive argu-
ment for the friends of education, and espe-
cially of Sunday schools. Where there is
plenty of food, as there must indefinitely be
in this country, there will always be plenty,
of children. It is a beneficent, a beautiful
law ; but this remark only e7i passant. More
than half our present white population are
yet in what may be called the flower of
youth. "We almost literally present an ex-
ample of national adolescence — the freshness,
the ardor, the vigor, and the susceptibility
of childhood and young manhood. The
white population in 1850 was 19,553,068 ;
that portion which was under twenty years
of age, 10,130,731 ; under one year, 537,661 ;
between one and five, 2,358,797; five and
ten, 2,704,128 ; ten and fifteen, 2,402,129 ;
fifteen and twenty, 2,128,116. Total,
10,130,731.

Pause here, educators, Sunday-school
teachei's and patrons, all you upon whom
devolves the instruction of the young of the
country, or who have the pecuniary means
of providing it ; see you not that its destiny

120 THE GREAT REFORM.

is in your hands? The population of to-day
is to surpass the millions of Europe in
about seventy-five years; and you, yes, pre-
cisely you, hold within your power one-half
of the population of to-day, one-half the
present elements of the grand geometrical
progression. Work out, then, with a tireless
hand and a sublime consciousness, this
mighty arithmetic of destiny.

This is the first, because the most moment-
ous lesson of the subject. We have not in-
troduced our calculations to croak over
them ; .they are grave, they are alniost
solemn in their importance ; but they chal-
lenge us to action, not to despair. We
4:hink it may be soberly said that» never
before was there a battle-field for humanity
like this ; never were the elements of good
and evil set forth against each other in a
grander arena ; never was humani^-y thrown
out upon conditions more experimental —
more free from the trammels of old institu-
tions, of old traditions, of old lies. It must
be mighty here — that is inevitable ; but it
will be mighty in the strength of its wick-
edness, like the antediluvian giants who
brought the world to dissolution, or mighty
in the virtues which shall subdue the world
to the reign of intelligence, virtue, and

MOEAL EXIGENCIES OF OUR COUNTRY. 121

liberty. They who have the means of edu-
cating the young can lay a mightier hand
npon this sublime future than any other
heroes in the field. The legislators of the
land, its high places of j)ower and of pro-
fessional life, may do much for it ; but its
humble places of education, its Sunday-
schools especially, are its true fortresses —
"the cheap defense of nations," as Burke
called chivalry.

These calculations present a lesson, a start-
hng one, respecting the necessity of re-en-
forcing the means of public worship. It
seems almost impracticable that adequate
•provisions of religion can be made for this
rapid progress of population. Let us look
at the facts here again, not to despond over
them, but to arouse our sense of duty.
Accordino^ to the census returns, the ao:2:re-
gate "accommodations" of all the sects of
the land, for religions worship, do not now
amount to thirteen million eight hundred
and fifty tliousand : these include not only
clmrclies or chapels, but halls, ifec, used for
public worship. Deduct the Roman Catho-
lics and other non-evangelical sects, and you
have but little more than thirteen million
"sittings." Hardly more than half your
present population have, therefore, such

122 THE GREAT REFOEM.

accommodations — this after generations of
effort and expenditure. How, then, are
you to provide, in about seventy -five years,
for two hundred and twenty additional mill-
ions? Does not the voice of Providence,
like the trumpet of destiny, call upon you
to arise to this great emergency? Did there
ever pass over any Christian land a day
like that which is now rising upon yours ?
Was there ever a period in which more
energy, self-sacrifice, unresting labor, de-
volved upon the Church ?

And how are we, in this comparatively
brief period, to meet the national necessity
for public religious teachers ? The pulpit is
the citadel of truth in the world. 'No free
legislative halls can stand where stand no
free pulpits. Already the land suffers for
want of preachers. The complaint c«mes
from all its length and breadth. Every de-
nomination utters it. The Christian ministry
is unquestionably in a comparative decline
throughout the country. Temporary causes
may contribute to the melancholy fact — the
absorption of our young men by money-
making pursuits, through the excitements
produced by the California mines, and the
great consequent outbreak of all sorts of
business. But independently of these inter-

MORAL EXIGENCIES OF OUK COUNTRY. 123

ferences, how are we to provide, within
seventy-five years, the ministrations which
shall be demanded by two hundred and
twenty additional millions of people? Look
at the question — pause over it. Is it not
manifest that the new form of lay ministry
connected with our tract societies — that col-
porteurs must supply a large proportion of
this demand, and that the liberality of the
Church must sustain them ? This, indeed,
seems to be the special provision of Provi-
dence for the exigency.

We must look to God in incessant prayers
that he would raise up laborers, but we
must also look to ourselves. We must open
our eyes to the overwhelming exigency ; we
must talk about it, write about it, preach
about it, till we move the Churcli as in a
crusade for the salvation of the land. The
young men of the Church must be every-
where rallied to her pulpit batteries. They
must be made to feel that an extraordinary
providential call for them is reverberating all
along its altars ; that Protestant Christianity,
with its consequences to civilization and lib-
erty, here in its chief field on the earth, de-
volves its destiny upon them ; that the hour
has come for self-sacrifices and moral hero-
ism such as no other modern age has seen

124 THE GREAT REFORM.

in Christendom. This is not rhetoric; it is
stringent logic. We have given the proofs,
mathematical proofs. Popery, infidelity,
and popular depravity confront us here in an
open field, and challenge us to a pitched and
conclusive battle. Who that loves the
Church and his country can be indifferent to
the call?

Is it not obvious that the religious philan-
thropy of the land must be redoubled, and
that right speedily ? It has been increasing
greatly within a few years. In this respect
alone we have a providential indication that
we may pass safely through the crisis. The
idea of "systematic beneficence" — of the
consecration of business life on the same
principle as the consecration of missionary
life itself — is dawning into the mind of the
Church. There are now not a few success-
ful Christian merchants and mechanics who
feel that they are not ''proprietor's^ but stew-
ards gf their property," and must give
account in the " great day," who are convinc-
ed they "are not their own," but belong
unto the Lord, and that they have no more
right to " live unto themselves " than has
their Christian brother, the missionary in the
ends of the earth. This, as we have shown,
is not a religious whim — it is a great logical

MORAL EXIGENCIES OF OUR COUNTRY. 125

principle of practical Christianity. It is the
idea, next to the purity of the Church, that
is to save the world ; and the lack of it has,
more than anything else, postponed its sal-
vation. It is yet to become general. The
world is now nearly all open, as we have
seen, for Christian propagandism. There are
pecuniary resources enough in Christendom
to cover the earth with the light of the truth.
We need but to call out those resources, and
this can only be done by enforcing every-
where.tlie true idea of the relation of Chris-
tian men to their property. The pulpit,
tracts, and prize essays are discussing it ;
they must discuss it more and more. The
revolution we have predicted in this respect
must be effected. The moral prospect, of
our country, as we have shown it, demon-
strates the doctrine overwhelmingly. Chris-
tian business men, look forth upon that pros-
pect, and ask what your country and your
religion demand of you under such circum-
stances. Labor in your workshops and your
marts for the common salvation. Endow
schools, promote publications, send forth la-
borers. It is a sublime opportunity for you ;
it will ennoble and sanctify from their sordid-
ness the pursuits of your secular life ; you
will no longer live only to live, but for moral

126 THE GREAT REFORM.

ends, whicli will glorify both your life and your
death. For you who, as Christian men," look
for the glorious appearing of the great God
and our Saviour," any other life is a solecism
which will be fearfully refuted ; if not now,
yet in the hour of death or the day of j udg-
ment.

We have written these remarks with em-
phasis, but with sober and stern arguments,
— '' mathematical arguments," as we have
called tliem. How could such a subject be
treated otherwise than emphatically ? Was
there ever a matter of greater urgency pre-
sented to this Christian nation ? We are re-
luctant to dismiss it, and yet would not im-
pair the effect of our reasonings by their
length. The subject has its dark side, but
we do not despond. Through the indiffer-
ence of the Church of the land, a fearful
night may lower over our children, but we
will hope otherwise. All the indications of
Providence would seem to betoken the break-
ing up of heathenism and Mohammedanism,
and the general triumph of the truth. Let
us, then, rather hope that " the night is far
spent, the day is at hand ; and let us, there-
fore, cast off the works of darkness, and put
on the armor of light."

THE END.

THE

GEEAT QTJESTIOI,

THE

GREAT QUESTION;

OB,

HOW SHALL I MEET THE CLAIMS OF GOD
UPON MY PROPERTY?

By Rev. L 0 RENZ O ' WHITE,

OP THE NEW-ENGLAND CONFERENCE.

NEW YORK:
CARLTON & LANAHAN.

SAN FRANCISCO: E. THOMAS.
CINCINNATI: HITCHCOCK & WALDEN.

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1856, by
CARLTON & PHILLIPS,

in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the Southern District
of New-Yorls.

EDITOR'S PREFACE.

We ask for "The Great Question" the
thorough examination and calm considera-
tion of the Christian Church. " How shall
I meet the claims of God upon my prop-
erty?" is a neglected question. It is
much more common to ask, How shall I
increase my property ? How shall I retain
it? In what manner shall I invest it to
make it most productive, or how use it most
for my own gratification? Thus the gath-
ering of dust becomes the life-labor of a
probationer for eternity. The muscles, the
nervous energy, the thoughts, the affections,
and the active powers of mind, are all con-
centrated upon acquisitions which are only-
valuable in exchange, and finally, as through

6 PREFACE.

Gospel agencies, they shall be instrumental
in bringing pardon, and life, and purity to
immortal souls. Dying men fix their habi-
tations upon earth. Sinners, hastening to the
judgment, treasure up gold ; and, doing it
in opposition to the divine command, with it
they "treasure up wrath against the day of
wrath, and revelation of the righteous judg-
ment of God."

It is surely time for the reader to inquire,
in all candor and earnestness, "How shall
I meet the claims of God upon my prop-
erty?" He surely has claims — valid, se-
rious, imperative claims — which he has
never waived for a moment, and which he
will enforce in the day of final retribution.
This is a sincere and thorough effort to ascer-
tain these claims in the light of divine reve-
lation, and to answer the question which,
we trust, you are now moved to ask. At
least read it. Ask the light of God upon
your soul while you read. "What is truth?"

PREFACE. 7

in regard to this subject, ought to be the
only question with you. Shrink from no
conclusions which you shall find sustained
by the word of God. They cannot harm
you. They will " lead you into green pas-
tures;" they will relieve, refresh, and in-
vigorate your inquiring, doubting spirit;
give you sweet rest from the perplexities
of a life-time, and ample treasures "in bags
that wax not old."

Well may the author call this "The
Great Question." For your own soul, next
to the question of personal salvation, there
is scarcely a greater. Equal, indeed, to the
stern importance of the inquiries. How shall I
be delivered from the earthliness of my fallen
nature ? what shall be my remedy for " cov-
etousness, which is idolatry?" how shall I
shake myself from the dust of earth, that I
may be prepared for the spirit-world ? how
shall I identify myself, in every particular,
with the advancing cause of the Eedeemer?

8

PREFACE.

how shall I glorify my Maker on earth, and
find my way to heaven, is the question:
" How shall I meet the claims of God upon
my property ?" Search, we beseech you, in
this volume, in other kindred works, in the
Holy Bible, and all in the spirit of humble,
submissive prayer, that you may settle it
clearly, safely, and permanently.

The question of this book is rapidly be-
coming the great question of the age, and
we are thankful to God that the call of the
Tract Society of the Methodist Episcopal
Church has brought out an argument so
strong, and fearless, and instructive.

Jesse T. Peck.

New-Yoek, Dec. 20, 1866.

CONTENTS.

CHAP. PAQH

I. — THE SUBJECT STATED 11

n.— GENERAL VIEW OP THE MOTIVES TO BENEFI-
CENCE, AND PARTICULARLY OF OUR OBLIGATION
OF GRATITUDE TO GOD, AS EXHIBITED IN THE

GREAT SYSTEM OF DIVINE BENEFICENCE 19

in. — BENEFICENCE A RELIGIOUS DUTY 34

IV. — THE PRESCRIBED OBJECTS OF BENEFICENCE 44

V. — LIBERALITY REQUIRED 64

VI. — SYSTEM REQUIRED 78

Vn. — ^FIRST SCRIPTURAL RULE — WE ARE REQUIRED OF
ALL OUR INCOME TO MAKE THE FIRST APPRO-
PRIATION TO THE LORD 94

Tin. — SECOND SCRIPTURAL RULE — WE ARE REQUIRED
AS THE LOWEST PROPORTION TO GIVE A

TENTH OF ALL 104

DC — THIRD SCRIPTURAL RULE — WE ARE REQUIRED
TO RESPOND TO THE CLAIMS OF THIS DUTY
ON EACH SABBATH, GIVING IN PROPORTION AS

GOD PROSPERS US 152

Z. — THE REQUIRED BENEFICENCE OBLIGATORY UPON

THE MINISTRY 168

10 CONTENTS.

OHAP. PA€M

XI. — THE REQUmED BENEFICENCE PROMOTES THE WELL-
BEING OF OUR FELL0W-5IEN IN THE PRESENT

LIFE 181

Xn. — THE REQUIREB BENEFICENCE A DIVINE INSTRU-
MENTALITY IN THE ETERNAL SALVATION OF
OUR FELLOW-MEN 196

Xin. — THE REQUIRED BENEFICENCE A JUST RETURN FOR
THE GOOD WHICH WE HAVE RECEIVED AS OB-
JECTS OF THE BENEFICENCE OF OTHERS 204

XrV. THE REQUIRED BENEFICENCE FAVORABLE TO

PROSPERITY IN ACQUIRING TEMPORAL POS-
SESSIONS 212

XV. THE REQUIRED BENEFICENCE INDISPENSABLE TO

A PREPARATION FOR THE LIFE TO COME 226

THE

GREAT QUESTION.

CHAPTER I.

THE SUBJECT STATED.

The earnest Christian has neither time nor
inchnation for fault-finding. There is a bright
as well as a dark view before him. True,
contrasting the world as it is with the world
as it ought to be, the deficiency is startling.
So, to a great extent, it is with the Church.
She does but little compared with her ability
to do. A large proportion of her resources
has never been consecrated to the Christian
cause. Her heart is divided between char-
ity and selfishness — ^between Christ and the
world. It would be easy to write a book
devoted to an exhibition of her inconsist-
ency. But this alone would be useless; it
would be an additional example of time,
and talent, and money wasted. The faults
of the Church should be faithfully pointed

12 THE GREAT QUESTION.

out to her ; but to stop here would be to dis-
hearten her.

The Church is still instrumentally the
light of the world. Her power to reflect
the life-giving beams of Christianity is, of
course, proportionate to her purity, or,
which is the same thing, to her piety. It
cannot be denied that there are some spots
upon her disk ; but in looking at these let
us not forget the real brightness which sur-
rounds and reveals them. Possibly we shall
even find, by attentive examination, that
some of the dark appearances which attract
so much attention, and are the occasion of
so many reproaches, are only clouds obscur-
ing portions which are pure, and would, if
not thus prevented, reflect the light with
greatest power. If this is found to be the
case, the natural order will be first, if
possible, to remove the clouds. Then the
actual spots will be seen more distinctly,
and their nature will be better understood.
The conviction of the writer is, that the
Church is not, at heart, so impure as many
suppose. She has more conscience toward
God than has yet been brought to bear upon
the accomplishment of the great work which
is assigned to her. She has more of the
spirit of consecration than has yet been de-

THE SUBJECT STATED. 13

veloped in the form of benevolence, and
more benevolence than has found expression
in beneficence. We will not stop to specu-
late upon the degree in which this dispro-
portion exists; but our honest opinion is
that, if proper measures were adopted by
those whom God has appointed as leaders in
the Church, her contributions and other
efforts would ere long be increased many
fold.

There are two great questions which cover
the whole field of profitable inquiry before
us : — 1. Given the present piety of the
Church : How shall we secure a correspond-
ing degree of beneficent action ? 2. Given
the entire resources of the Church : How
shall her piety be so increased as to secure
to the cause of beneficence the consecration
of all her resources ?

These questions are very closely related.
The solution of the second depends upon that
of the first. To increase the piety of the
Church we must call into vigorous and well-
directed activity that which now exists, for
exercise is a law of growth. And since
Christian beneficence is piety in exercise,
evidently the largest growth of piety
demands that the most efficient means be
employed to call forth beneficence. Prac-

14 THE GREAT QUESTION.

ticallj, then, the second question merges
in the first: How shall the piety of the
Church be most successfully called into ex-
ercise in the cause of Christian beneficence ?
The answer is two-fold.

1. The motives to Christian beneficence
must be clearly and fully placed before the
Church in their proper order. She must
have a complete and systematic view of the
subject. Motives may be resisted. Their
province, indeed, is not to enslave, but to
make free ; but for this purpose they are in-
dispensable. 'No one can act without them
any more than he can breathe without air or
walk upon vacuity. But in whatever degree
there is real principle, the presentation of
motives will infallibly awaken a disposition
to act it out. Now piety is the foundation
principle of beneficence ; and since the
Church has a measure of this principle, we
may, in the outset, be assured that when we
place the motives to beneficence properly
before her, they will not fail to thrill her
heart with a desire to act; and that to the
extent of her piety, if intelligently guided,
she will act.

2. The Church must be led to the adoption
of a systematic plan of operation. This will
enable her to act, and to act efficiently to

THE SUBJECT STATED. 15

the extent of her ability, thus at the same
time securing an amount of beneficence
commensurate with her present piety, and
providing the conditions of its constant
growth.

Some may conclude that if this is all
which is essential to secure the resources
of the Church to the cause of Christian
beneficence, it can be accomplished very
easily. But this is a mistake. Something
more than one or two eloquent sermons from
the pulpit and a few bold dashes of the pen
will be found necessary. Not so easily is
the force of long-established habit broken,
and a chronic indifference to duty overcome.
Still the path to certain success is a plain
one. Exhibit to the Church the great
motives to beneficence in all their grandeur
and power, and inspire her with confidence
by pointing out to her the true method of
effort, and generous responses will be heard
throughout her ranks.

To the extent, however, that method in
beneficence has been submitted to the judg-
ment of the Church, we shall leave the sub-
ject to those who are better capable of advis-
ing. But we shall find that Revelation
affords us much clear light even in respect
to the mode of operation. It distinctly and

16 THE GREAT QUESTION.

repeatedly enjoins system in the discharge
of this duty ; and, if we mistake not its teach-
ings, it authoritatively furnishes us with
certain rules of action which are of general
adaptation.

Our task now lies plainly before us. It
is, to place before the reader the Scriptural
motives to Christian beneficence. But this,
as we have seen, is not a beneficence without
system. Christian beneficence and system-
atic beneficence are synonymous, save that
the former term is the more specific. Every
Scriptural motive to beneficence, then, is a
motive to systematic beneficence. Hence a
full view of the motives to Christian benefi-
cence requires an exhibition of the efficient
and authoritative system by which it is dis-
tinguished. He only is entitled to a repu-
tation for Christian beneficence whose bene-
factions, both in measure and manner, accord
with the standard prescribed in the Bible.

The various motives to beneficence differ
so immeasurably in strength, that at first
view it might be thought by some, since the
weaker appear so insignificant in comparison,
that it would be better to direct attention
exclusively to the stronger. But this, how-
ever skillfully done, would be to present
only a partial and incoherent view of the

TITE SUBJECT STATED. 17"

subject. Though the various motives spring
from distinct sources, they are exhibited in
a symmetrical plan formed by infinite wis-
dom for this very purpose. Thus we have
the fullest assurance that no one of them is
superfluous. Indeed, no one can be seen in
all its force if isolated from the rest. Be-
sides, the divine Author of them all is also
the Architect of the human mind ; and, be-
yond a doubt, he has exactly suited them to
its wants. Plainly, then, the blended influ-
ence of all the Scriptural motives to benefl-
cence is needed to inspire us with a zeal
which, both in nature and degree, shall be
according to knowledge.

We enter upon our task thus defined with
a cheerful confidence that our labor will not
be in vain. Imperfect its performance must
be we know ; but it cannot be otherwise than
that the heart of the Christian should grow
warm in the contemplation of a theme which,
from every point of view, is so full of affini-
ties with his renewed nature. We shall take
for granted that the reader would have us
present the subject plainly. May we not
also take for granted a hearty response? Im-
patient denunciation we do not approve. It
is useless and unbecoming. Prompt, ener-
getic, persevering action is what is needed.
2

18 THE GREAT QUESTION.

Ministers, leaders, stewards — all who are
conscious that the present sacrifices of the
Church are below the standard of duty, and
are inadequate to meet the wants of the
Christian cause, must contribute and combine
their influence to heighten her zeal, and to
secure the adoption of broader and more
efficient measures.

But let us not forget that our part is to lead,
not to drive. First of all, example is called
for. A few examples the Church already has
before her. Among the brightest of these
is that of John Wesley, the founder of Meth-
odism. But examples are still the great want
among us. Let the reader, if he has not
already done so, without delay, add one to
the number. It will do little good to talk
unless we act up to our convictions. If we
would see the Church rise to the true stand-
ard, we must first rise to it ourselves. God
has ordained that zeal shall kindle zeal , and
that we may all have a perfect example, and
one embodying the highest possible motives,
he has placed his own beneficent character
before us for imitation. These are the words
of the great Teacher: " Be ye therefore mer-
ciful [that is, Do good even to the unthankful
and the evil] as your Father also is merciful.'

OBLIGATION OF GRATITUDE TO GOD. 19

CHAPTEK 11.

GENERAL VIEW OF THE MOTIVES TO BENPJFICENCE,
AND PARTICULARLY OF OUR OBLIGATION OF
GRATITUDE TO GOD, AS EXHIBITED EN" THE
GREAT SYSTEM OF DIVINE BENEFICENCE.

In the command to be merciful as our heav-
enly Father is merciful, we have, in general
terms, a clear and full statement of the
Christian duty under consideratiop, and at
the same time a most forcible appeal to an
obligation of gratitude. God calls on us to
be beneficent to our fellow-men who are his
own creatures; and, as the standard of our
beneficence, and the measure of our obliga-
tion of gratitude to comply, he refers to his own
beneficence, of which we are all objects.
That we may intelligently view this obliga-
tion, we must, of course, have an acquaint-
ance with the leading features in the divine
plan of beneficence. Indeed, the divine
plan includes all our beneficent efforts, and
it is obvious that to have a correct view of
the part which we are called to act, we must
have some knowledge of the whole plan, and
especially of the relation which our particular

20 THE GEEAT QTJESTION.

part sustains to the whole. Let this, then,
engage our attention in the present chapter.

" God is love," is the comprehensive de-
claration of the inspired volume. This is not
the whole of theology, but it is its sublimest
truth. Love is the crowning, perfecting
glory of all the divine attributes, and con-
centrates them all upon the great work of
beneficence — of promoting the happiness and
welfare of created beings.

The exhibitions which God has made of
his love are worthy of himself. The very
first which arrests our attention, is his crea-
tion of man in his own image, thereby render-
ing man capable of this attribute of love,
which shines with such splendor in his own
character, and is the infinite source of his
own happiness. But even this, wonderful
as it is, has been exceeded. This glorious
wording forth of God's benevolent disposition
cost no sacrifice: "He spake and it was
done." But when man ungratefully rebelled
against God, and incurred his righteous dis-
pleasure, then was divine love put to the
severest test. Yet it was equal to the emer-
gency. God so loved man that he spared
not his own Son, but sent him into the world
to die as his ransom, and thus avert the
sword of justice from the criminal. Such

OBLIGATION OF GRATITUDE TO GOD. 21

is the expense at whicli he satisfied the
inflexible demands of his holy law, that
he might reach forth the omnipotent arm
of his beneficence, and lift the miserable
culprit from the depth of his degradation to
his own bosom, and receive him again as a
child.

In comparison with these manifestations
of beneficence, all earthly blessings seem
very insignificant. Viewed in themselves
they are so. But earthly blessings are in-
tended as a means, not as an end. They
are only instrumental. It is the power of
love possessed by man — God's image in his
nature — which renders them valuable to
him. They are a part of a grand scheme —
the divine system of beneficence.

Another part of this systetn is found in
the endearing i-elations which mankind are
permitted to sustain, as members of families,
as neighbors, as citizens, as a great brother-
hood embracing the entire human race.
These relations have been instituted, that
man's native power of love may find ex-
pression and expansion in loving his fellow-
man ; and this earth, filled to profusion
with temporal blessings, has been lent to
him in order to furnish him with the requisite
resources for acting out his love for his race —

22 THE GREAT QUESTION.

of being beneficent as well as benevolent — d
doing good to his brother-man as well as
wishing him good.

In carrying out this great system of benef-
icence, the Creator has so constituted man
that he needs the aid and sympathy of his
fellows, and that a share in the good things
of the earth is essential to his present life
and happiness, and may be promotive of all
his interests ; and he has endowed liim with
possessory feelings, by virtue of which he
may acquire such a title to certain of these
earthly blessings as that he may justly regard
them as his in a sense in which they are not
his neighbors. He may have something
which he can call his own, and which from
the motive of benevolence he can appropriate
according to his own free choice in doing
good to others.

Man now appears before us a being capa-
ble of acting the part of a true benefactor, of
being merciful in some degree as his Father
in heaven is merciful; and we have already
seen that the facts which constitute him
such enter into the scheme of systematic
beneficence of which God is the author.
As yet, however, we have only taken the
narrowest and least attractive view of this
glorious scheme. Not to the relief of physi-

OBLIGATION OF GRATITUDE TO GOD. 23

cal suffering, and the promotion of temporal
happiness has the sphere of human benef-
icence been limited. In the plan of infinite
love for accomplishing the salvation of this fall-
en, sinful world, man has been assigned a part
— the only part which he is capable of acting.
Man could not satisfy the claims of insulted
justice. This the infinite Son of God alone
could do by the shedding of his own
precious blood. Instantly he responded to
the call of mercy, and pledged himself to
make the sacrifice when the fullness of time
should come. Man could not apply the
atoning blood, and change the heart of
his brother. This required the omnipotent
energies of the Holy Spirit. Immediately
they were in exercise for this obj ect. Man's
mind was too dark, unaided, to unfold the
wondrous scheme of redemption. God
spake himself, first by Moses and the proph-
ets, partially, as best suited his gracious
purposes ; afterward he became incarnate,
fulfilled the promise, himself set forth the
truth in its fullness, laid the foundation of
his Church, and commissioned a little band
of faithful followers to preach to others the
glad tidings which they had received from
his own lips. The words of the commission,
spoken after he had finished his work upon

24 THE GREAT QUESTION.

the earth, and just before lie reascended to
heaven, are these : " Go ye into all the
world, and preach the Gospel to every
creature." This is the part assigned to
man, to spread the Gospel of Christ, which
is the power of God unto salvation to every
one that believeth. This is the field which
God has opened for the exercise and culti-
vation of benevolence in the heart of his
creature man. An immortality of blessed-
ness and honor in behalf of his brother-man,
is one of the motives by which it is intensi-
fied and exalted. Here is just the work
which man needs ; for it is adapted to stir
the deepest sympathies of his heart, and to
call forth the highest capabilities of his
mind.

But to the grandest feature in this divine
system of beneficence we have not yet
alluded. "The first and great command-
ment is this. Thou shalt love the Lord thy
God with all thy heart, and with all thy
soul, and with all thy mind. And the
second is like unto it, namely this. Thou
shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On
these two commandments hang all the law
and the prophets." It follows that their ob-
servance is at the same time man's highest
duty and greatest privilege. It is the estab

OBLIGATION OF GRATITUDE TO GOD. 25

lishment of the kingdom of God in his
heart, which is " righteousness, and peace,
and joy in the Holy Ghost."

We have thus far viewed the system
which we are contemplating in its relation
to the second of these commandments. But
every part of it is also designed and adapted
to secure obedience to the first, to call forth
supreme love to God from the heart by
bringing man into the closest union with
him. Has God created man in his own
image ? He could not have placed him in
a more endearing natural relation to him-
self. Has he redeemed man from the
misery and degradation of his fall by the
sacrifice of his only-begotten son, and
thereby made him an heir of heaven ? By
no other means could he have manifested
such love for him and placed him under
such obligations to himself. Are there
numerous wants in the nature of man ? The
beneficent Creator has himself placed them
there, that he may bless him in supplying
them. Has he instituted such relations
among men that they are capable of loving
each other? He himself sustains an infi-
nitely nearer relation to these our neighboi*s
and brethren and children than we do, and
he loves them all infinitely more than it is

26 THE GREAT QUESTION.

possible for us to love them. Have we the
word of eternal life which, we can give
them? He gave us this word, he kindled
in our hearts a desire to bestow it upon
others, and he saves by means of it. Does
he require us to give liberally of our posses-
sions for the relief of the poor and the sup-
port of religion ? The poor are his, and the
cause of religion is his, and it is he who has
made us possessors, and bestowed upon us
all that we have. Every good thing upon
earth was placed here by his bountiful hand
as an expression of his love. May we be
laborers together in the work of saving our
fellow-men? This is God's work; he has
appointed us to it ; our fellow-men belong to
him, and it is as his laborers, that we may
be instrumental in their salvation. He does
not assist us in saving others dear to us, but
in whom he has no interest; but he allies
us to himself in saving those who are the
workmanship of his own hands, who were
created in his own image, and whom his
own blood has ransomed.

This beneficent scheme has not been pro-
vided for a favored few who are endowed
with superior gifts and abundant wealth. It
is true, only a limited number are called
directly to the work of preaching the Gos-

OBLIGATION OF GRATITUDE TO GOD. 2T

pel, and some are very poor ; yet every one
has his station of duty in the accomplish-
ment of the great work. All may and
ought to be living witnesses for the truth' —
" a peculiar people, zealous of good works."
Besides, the poor with rare exceptions can
give something. If it costs them greater
self-denial than it would if they were rich,
so much the greater is the profit which they
derive ; for so much the more does it take
them out of self, and contribute to the cul-
tivation of a benevolent disposition. If there
be those who are absolutely destitute of
money, or of means to obtain it, even they
will find opportunities to sacrifice to promote
the happiness of their fellow-men and the
glory of God ; and their struggling desires to
aid in extendins: the Redeemer's kingdom in
the earth may do more to expand their hearts
than would the privilege of giving largely if
they were rich.

But the number in Christendom is very
small who cannot give something. Let the
poor remember that the smallest sums, given
in sincerity and cheerfulness, are no less ac-
ceptable to God than are the thousands cast
into his treasury by the rich. "Who has
never been the possessor of a sum equal to
two mites ? Yet our Lord regarded the two

28 THE GREAT QrESTION.

mites of the poor widow as a greater contri-
bution than the aggregate of all the large
sums which the rich brought of their abund-
ance. He estimat-ed not by the bulk or qual-
ity of the coin, but by the greatness and purity
of the motive, as determined by the sacrifice
made. It is, however, quite probable that
the real sacrifice not only measures the moral
act of the contribution, but that in a great
degree it measures also the magnitude of the
results. The eye of man could not follow
the widow's two mites in their direct influ-
ence as a benevolent contribution. Mingled
with the thousands in the treasury, like the
waters which the little stream pours into the
ocean, they were instantly lost to human
vision.. But they were not lost to the om-
niscient eye of the great Benefactor. This
small contribution was genuine, and was
doubtless taken under his special care. It
then became so much capital for the promo-
tion of benevolence at compound interest
forever. The little rill which there had its
source, diffused so as to flow in a thousand
directions, may by this time have contribut-
ed a fertilizing influence to the interests of
humanity in all lands.

But there is a more important aspect to
the poor widow's contribution. Who can

OBLIGATION OF GRATITUDE TO GOD. 29

estimal^s the good resulting from her exam-
ple as a rebuke to selfishness, and an encour-
agement to those who have hearts to do, but,
like herself, are poor. That little star of in-
fluence which rose in Judea more than eight-
een centuries ago, and at first shed only a
few faint beams through a dense fog of un-
belief upon a small number of minds, has
from that time to the present been slowly
and steadily rising, each succeeding year
shining upon increasing numbers, and with
an intenser radiance, and will continue to
rise, and to enlarge its sphere, and to increase
its brilliancy until, unobstructed, it shall pour
its vertical rays upon all the inhabitants of
the earth. I^or will it ever perish ; for
when time is no more, fixed in the bright
firmament of the heavenly paradise, it will
shine with eternal splendor. Thus the poor,
as well as the rich, may share in the luxury
of helping to give the word of life to their
perishing fellow-men. All who have hearts
to do so may aid in sending streams of be-
neficence to earth's remotest bounds, which
will flow on with increasing power for ever-
more.

But let not the force of this system be
neutralized as an exhibition of divine love
by the absurd notion that God is in any degree

30 THE GREAT QUESTION.

dependent upon man. He conld speak the
word, and every son of poverty would be
rich ; all the blind would receive sight ; all
the lame would leap for joy ; and all the
sick, in perfected health and vigor, would rise,
take up their beds, and walk. He might
have made angels the embassadors of his
truth; he might have caused every breeze
to proclaim it ; he might have impressed it
upon every leaf of the forest, upon every
flower of the field, and upon every spire of
grass, and have written it in characters of fire
upon heaven's maj estic arch ; or, discarding
all such instrumentalities, he could himself
address it to every man in an audible voice.
The true explanation of the matter is this :
Man must have a work to do in order that
life may be a blessing, and the real value of
life to him is determined by the character of
the work in which he is employed. With-
out some sphere of action, the powers of an
archangel would be a useless, unconscious pos-
session. Man could not be benevolent like
his Creator, whose image he bears, unless
some object of benevolence were placed be-
fore him. He could not be beneficent if the
necessary resources were not furnished him;
nor could he, in the highest sense, love
with all the heart, except he were brought

OBLIGATION OF GRATITUDE TO GOD. 81

into union with a being worthy of such
love. How perfectly has this great want
been met. That man may have an object of
benevolence, he has been made his brother's
keeper ; that he may have the means with
which to do good to his brother, this earth
has been formed and fitted up as a great
almonry of its benevolent Creator, and man
has been appointed his almoner to distribute
the blessings with which it abounds ; that
man may love supremely, God, whose infinite
nature is love, after placing him under
every other possible obligation, has taken
him into union with himself. In the pleni-
tude of his love he has planned and perfect-
ed the great system of beneficence which we
have been contemplating — a system in all
respects on a scale of grandeur which the
infinite Mind alone could devise — that man,
whom he has created in his own image, may
also be like him in his character and con-
duct, and may be a partaker with him of the
blessedness of beneficence.

Such is the scheme of systematic benefi-
cence formed by the divine Benefactor in
our behalf — such is the standard of Christian
beneficence, and so great is our obligation
of gratitude to conform to it: Freely, lib-
erally, and systematically, our heavenly

32 THE GREAT QTJESTION.

Father gives to us ; so ought we to give to
others. "We know the grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet
for our sakes he became poor, that we
through his poverty might be rich." So
ought we cheerfully to give all which is re-
quired, though it be all we have, that our
poor, benighted, perishing brethren may be-
come rich in the Christian faith. " Hereby
perceive we the love of God, because he laid
down his life for us ; and we ought (to be
willing even) to lay down our lives for the
brethren."

It is impossible to conceive a greater love
than God has shown us. He has done
all which he can do for our good. He even
appeals to us, resting the integrity of his
throne and his cl^im to our hearts upon our
candid decision, whether he has left any-
thing undone which our highest interests
demanded. " Judge, I pray you," says he,
" between me and my vineyard. What
could have been done more to my vineyard
that I have not done in it ?" So ought we,
as a grateful return to God for his love and
faithfulness to us, to the extent of our ability,
to do good in every possible way to all those
of his creatures of whose welfare he has in
any respect made us keepers.

OBLIGATION OF GRATITUDE TO GOD. 33

We cannot express our gratitude bj be-
stowing any favor directly upon our Lord,
for he himself is the giver of all. Therefore
he points us to his poor, oppressed, and be-
nighted, and assures us that he accepts good
done even to the least of them all as done
to himself. " Inasmuch as ye have done it
unto one of the least of these my brethren,
ye have done it unto me."

But this survey of the divine system of
beneficence, while it exhibits in the clearest
light our indebtedness to God, and thus sets
vividly before us one powerful motive to
effort, also presents to us a general view of
our whole subject. Pointing out to us our
relation to this divine system, it advanta-
geously discovers to us the complete system
of motives with which Providence has fur-
nished us, presented in a threefold view :
1. Of our relations to God ; 2. Of our rela-
tions to the world ; 3. Of our own interests.
The intelligent reader will observe that,
following this natural arrangement, the pres-
ent and the next eight chapters urge upon
us the claims of God ; the three next follow-
ing— the eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth —
the claims of the world ; and that the last
two chapters appeal to our own interests.
3

34 THE GREAT QUESTION.

CHAPTEK ni.

BENEFICENCE A RELIGIOUS DUTY.

From the general view taken in tlie preced-
ing chapter, it is now plain that our subject,
far from being dry and speculative, is one
full of interest to every Christian. 'No sub-
ject is of a nature to bring us more con-
sciously into the preseoce of God, to exhibit
to our minds brighter and more refreshing
views of his character, and to stir the soul
with deeper and holier emotions. Indeed,
to have God in all our thoughts is the great
essential to an understanding and apprecia-
tion of every part of this subject. Kone of
the motives which it presents to us can be
seen in all their greatness unless they are
illumined by his radiant presence ; nor can
they be felt in all their power except they
be accompanied by his sovereign voice. In
describing the system of divine beneficence
we have specially aimed to meet the former
want. To meet the latter we appeal now to
the stern motive of religious duty. God
speaks to us not only as a Benefactor appeal-

BENEFICENCE A RELIGIOUS DUTY. 35

ing to US as objects of liis love, but from his
peerless throne he addresses us as subjects
of his rightful authority. Some have earn-
estly and reverently listened to his voice,
and have responded with the promptness
and cheerfulness of affectionate and loyal
subjects. Comparatively speaking, however,
we have reason to fear that the number is
small, even of those who bear the Christian
name, and love the Christian cause.

There is, indeed, generally a radical de-
ficiency in the sentiment of the Church on
this subject. Some, even, who unquestiona-
bly intend to do what they are convinced
God requires of them, appear to regard con-
tributions for charitable and religious pur-
poses as so absolutely excluded from the list
of duties as to be almost supererogatory. To
pay their honest debts they would readily
and cheerfully yield up every farthing, and
make every exertion in their power; but in
respect to the residue of their property, and
their services after meeting the just claims
of their creditors, they think they have the
exclusive right to do as they please. But is
this so? Has God no right to our property?
Is there a limit to his authority over us?
These pointed questions at once reveal a
palpable inconsistency in this sentiment of

36 THE GREAT QUESTION.

irresponsibleness in respect to our posses-
sions. We can no more escape an imperious
obligation, as we have " opportunity to do good
unto all men," " to be rich in good works,
ready to distribute," than we can annihilate
ourselves as moral beings. No duty is en-
joined in the Bible with greater distinctness
than this, and scarcely any with greater fre-
quency.

But we are not debating this subject with
the Christian reader. We address with
great confidence, especially those who are
accustomed to respond promptly to the dic-
tates of duty. We like to deal with such
persons. If we are faithful to set duty before
them, we can calculate what to depend upon
from them. To them, at least, truth is suf-
ficient. An attentive review of the subject
cannot fail of leading them to the earnest
conviction that beneficence is a duty as
justly and sacredly enjoined upon them by
the infinite Sovereign as is any precept of
the decalogue.

But the writer ought to be candid as well
as the reader, and this he will endeavor to
remember. We freely admit that each man
has a natural right to that of which he has
honestly become the possessor. 'No other
man, however extreme may be his destitu-

BENEFICENCE A RELIGIOUS DUTY. 37

tion, can, without incurring the guilt of
theft, take the smallest portion of it against
his consent ; nor is it the province of any
other man to dictate to him how he shall
appropriate it. We admit further, that the
common sweeping assumption that man
holds his property only as a steward needs
qualification. Every one instinctively per-
ceives an impropriety, if he does not detect
a fallacy in it. By endowing us with pos-
sessory feelings, the Creator has himself given
us such a title to the property which he has
entrusted to us that we properly feel that
there is a sense in which it is ours ; but this
is not the case with mere stewards. If we
give a dollar to relieve a suffering neighbor,
it is an expression of our own benevolence.
We justly feel tliat it is a voluntary gift on our
part, and the receiver recognizing it as such,
returns to us an expression of gratitude.
Now if we were mere stewards, though we
might be conscious of having faithfully dis-
charged a trust, we could not, in any sense,
feel that we had acted benevolently : and the
receiver, instead of thanking us, would only
request us to express his thanks to our em-
ployer.

But while we readily grant that, in a dis-
tinct sense, man holds his property as a pos-

38 THE GEEAT QUESTION.

sessor, it is none the less true that he holds it
as a steward of God, and as strictly as
though he were only a steward. That man
is a possessor is a matter of universal expe-
rience. Revelation does not, as some seem
to suppose, contradict this. On the contrary,
it constantly recognizes man as a possessor;
but it also teaches, that in addition to this, he
is a steward of God, and that not only over
his property, but equally in respect to every
endowment of body and mind. " Who then
is a faithful and wise servant, whom his
Lord hath made ruler over his household, to
give them meat in due season? Blessed is
that servant whom his Lord when he cometh
shall find so doing." "The kingdom of
heaven is as a man traveling into a far coun-
try, who called his own servants, and deliv-
ered unto them his goods. And unto one he
gave five talents, to another two, and to anoth-
er one ; to every man according to his several
ability ; and straightway took his journey."
" Let a man so account of us as of the min-
isters of Christ, and stewards of the myster-
ies of God. Moreover, it is required in
stewards that a man be found faithful."

This twofold relation which man sustains
to his property has a high practical import-
ance. Its recognition is indispensable to

BENEFICENCE A RELIGIOUS DUTF. 39

clear the subject of the vagueness which
hangs around it, and to call into lively exer-
cise the benevolent affections, and give to
their action the vigor, and constancy, and
propriety of moral principle. To degrade
man to a mere steward would be to dry up
the fountain of compassion in his heart, and
render him incapable of beneficence ; for
" the very nature of this virtue is to do good
freely and willingly with its own." Besides,
man's trust and consequent responsibility
would then be comparatively small. He is
more emphatically a steward because he is a
possessor. Even his title to his property is
in the handwriting of God, and it is subor-
dinate to his absolute and eternal claim
upon it, and is held on condition of faith-
fulness. It has been conferred for the
purpose of qualifying man for his high re-
sponsibility as his brother's keeper; and with
the gracious design, by giving dignity to the
trust and enlarging his moral freedom, to
enable him to profit the more by his stew-
ardship.

Thus we perceive that the fact that we
have a right to our property — that we are
possessors as well as stewards — renders us
capable of sacrifices for the good of others,
and of the duty of offering them freely and

40 THE GEEAT QUESTION.

liberally, enjoined upon us by tbe Most
High. While then we have not the exclusive
right to do as we please with our property
and our services, we must take the entire
responsibility of applying both as stewards
of God. " As every man hath received the
gift, even so minister the same one to another,
as good stewards of the manifold grace of
God."

Let it be specially observed that benefi-
cence is uniformly enjoined as strictly a
religious duty. It is obvious, from the teach-
ings of Scripture, that the primary design of
God in requiring sacrifices of property is
not the relief of the sufi'ering. If this were
the only object, he could easily accomplish
it immediately without any of our assistance.
But his gracious design is our own moral
improvement, by constantly reminding us of
our absolute dependence upon him for every
blessing, by awakening gratitude in our
hearts for his goodness, and by cultivating
in us a spirit of benevolence and of self-denial.
The sacrifices required under the ancient dis-
pensations had reference also to man's guilt.
These have been superseded by the great
sacrifice of the Lamb of God. But the
Christian, as well as the Jew, is required to
bring his offerings to the Lord. Their relig-

BENEFICENCE A RELIGIOUS DUTY, 41

ious nature remains unchanged. The pur-
pose to which they should be appropriated
is a secondary consideration, depending upon
the time and the circumstances.

This is sometimes strangely overlooked by
Christians. How often is the missionary
appeal addressed almost exclusively to the
sympathies, and how often do we hear
prayers the chief aim of which seems to be
to convert God to the sinner. It seems to
be forgotten that God feels any interest in
the welfare of the fallen sons of Adam ;
that their salvation is his own cause ; that
" he so loved the world that he gave his
only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth
in him should not perish, but have ever-
lasting life." All the love which the hearts
of men and angels can contain, is infinitely
less than that which God has manifested
toward every individual of the human race.
It does not become us, then, to absorb our-
selves in mere sympathy with our fellow-
men, and to pray for them as though we
were mediators before God in their behalf.
We ought, indeed, to sympathize with them,
but not as though we alone cared for their
souls. All such sympathy is blind, frenzied,
and powerless for good. ISTor have we a
right to expect that efforts prompted by it

42 THE GREAT QUESTION.

will be attended bj mucli success, for the
twofold reason that they are themselves un-
natural, and that the motive is essentially
defective. If we would secure the blessing
of God upon our labors, we must labor in his
service, and our prayer must be that he will
glorify his own name in the use of our labors.
The following are a few of the many pas-
sages which express the religious nature of
this duty. " Is not this the fast that I have
chosen ? to loose the bands of wickedness,
to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the
oppressed go free, and that ye break every
yoke? Is it not to deal thy bread to the
hungry, and that thou bring the poor that
are cast out to thy house ? when thou seest
the naked that thou cover him ; and that
thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh ! "
''Then shall the king say to them on his
right hand. Come ye blessed of my Father,
inherit the kingdom prepared for you from
the foundation of the world : for ... I was
sick, and ye visited me : I was in prison,
and ye came unto me." " As ye abound in
everything, in faith, and utterance, and
knowledge, and in all diligence, and in
your love to us, see that ye abound in this
grace also." " For the administration of
this service not only supplieth the want of

BENEFICENCE A RELIGIOUS DUTY. 43

tlie saints, but is abundant also by many
thanksgivings unto God." " Every man
according as he purposeth in his heart, so
let him give : not grudgingly, or of necessi-
ty ; for God loveth a cheerful giver." " I
am full, having received of Epaphroditus the
things which were sent from you, an odor
of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, well
pleasing to God." "For God is not unright-
eous to forget your work and labor of love
which ye have showed toward his name, in
that ye have ministered to the saints, and
do minister." " But to do good and to com-
municate forget not : for with such sacrifices
God is well pleased." " Pure religion and
undefiled before God and the Father is this,
To visit the fatherless and widows in their
afiliction, and to keep himself unspotted from
the world."

Thus our subject, in the outset, appeals to
the most powerful of all motives — that of re-
ligious obligation. But this motive is also
the broadest and most definite in its applica-
tion. God has presented to us the proper
objects of beneficence. He has enjoined
liberality in their support, and he has pre-
scribed system in our efforts. These re-
quirements will receive attention in subse-
quent chapters.

M THE GREAT QUESTION.

CHAPTER lY.

THE PKESCRIBED OBJECTS OF BENEFICENCE.

To determine the proper objects of benef-
icence we appeal again " to the law and to
the testimony." Here we find that with
equal distinctness we are required to con-
tribute to the relief of the poor and the
support of religion. Under the Mosaic dis-
pensation the laws were specific in respect
to both these objects ; and these aflford us
an unequivocal index to duties imperiously
devolving upon us, similar to those w*hich
they originally pointed out to the Jews.

But these duties are also inculcated in the
plainest manner in every part of the Bible.
And let it be particularly observed that
they are not limited to mere pecuniary
sacrifices. 'No one can discharge his full
responsibility by giving his part when called
upon. If all should stop with this the
whole matter would be universally neglect-
ed. Besides, real sacrifices are required ;
but in many cases mere giving cai-i scarcely
be regarded as a sacrifice. To this earnest
personal effort should be added, though to a

PEESCKIBED OBJECTS OF BENEFICENCE. 45

considerable extent the mode of effort must
be determined by the particular stations of
duty which we are called to occupy. No
matter, however, what the station may be, the
word of God requires beneficence in the full
import of the term. Let us first consider —
The duty of heneficence to the poor. " K
thy brother be waxen poor, and fallen in
decay with thee, then thou shalt relieve
him ; yea, though he be a stranger, or a
sojourner, that he may live with thee."
" Thou shalt open thy hand wide unto thy
brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy in
thy land." "The righteous considereth
the cause of the poor." " Thou shalt not
harden thy heart, nor shut thy hand from
thy poor brother; but thou shalt open thy
hand wide unto him." " Give to him that
asketh thee, and from him that would
borrow of thee turn not thou away."
"Give alms of such things as ye have."
" Let him labor, working with his hands
the thing which is good, that he may have
to give to him that needeth." "As we have
therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all
men, especially unto them who are of the
household of faith?" " Now concerning the
collection for the saints, as I have given order
to the Churches of Galatia, even so do ye."

46 THE GREAT QTJESTION.

Let it not be inferred that the provision
which is made for the poor at public expense
can supersede individual responsibility. As
well might the whole duty of personal re-
ligion be superseded by making religion a
state institution. That the state should pro-
vide for the poor under present circum-
stances is undoubtedly wise. The Jews
were required to support the poor ; but
they were required to do this freely, as a
sacred obligation to God, and in the true
spirit of charity toward their unfortunate
brethren. Upon the same principles every
man should now give his part, and act his
part in the public support of the poor. In-
deed, when, as in this country, the people
control the state, the action on the part of a
majority, at least, is strictly voluntary.

But it will not do to trust this matter
wholly to state action. To abandon charity
to the mere force of law is to destroy her.
Freedom belongs to her as an essential at-
tribute, and to rob her of it is to take her
life. She acts at great disadvantage when
in any measure subjected to the restraints
of human law. Let it be borne in mind
that the assessments upon the property of
the Jew were made by God himself, and
that he appointed no human executors of

PRESCRIBED OBJECTS OF BENEFICENCE. 47

the laws by which he prescribed them.
Even these laws, however, so far as they
consisted in specifications of the form of disr
pensing to the poor, seem not to have had
the elements of permanency. They were
needed because the law of love had been
obliterated from the heart of man, and as a
means of making straight the way of the in-
carnate Son of God, who in the fullness of
time perfectly exemplified that great law in
his life and death. Human statutes for the
support of the poor, then, should not be re-
garded as adapted to secure the highest
ends of charity, but rather as a necessity —
perhaps a temporary one — in view of the
feeble influence which the law of love has
yet gained in the heart of man, and of his
hesitating allegiance to God. In the minds
of most persons there is a feeling of generos-
ity toward the poor, and a natural shrink-
ing from scenes of suffering, which, com-
bined with various prudential motives,
render them willing to give what they call
their part toward their support if they can
be saved the trouble of looking after them
personally ; and it is certainly better to call
to the aid of these comparatively impotent
and very inconstant motives the strength
and system of legislation, than that the poor

48 THE GKEAT QUESTION.

shall be left to suifer. Still, the sooner this
foreign aid can be safely dispensed with
the better. Its influence, like that of a mer-
cenary army, is corrupting and dangerous.
It effects an unnatural separation between
the giver and receiver, sundering the two-
fold bond of compassion on the part of the
one, and gratitude on the part of the other,
by which the benevolent Creator would bind
them in indissoluble union, and bless them
both with the true riches of the heart. It is
an early part of the work of the Church,
wherever it is practicable, to restore this
bond by rescuing charity from the grasp of
the law, and providing for the poor by the
free-will offerings of those who are actuated
by Christian benevolence and a sense of re-
ligious duty. Blessed will be the day when,
by this divinely-appointed means, this work
shall be consummated.

Nothing would be gained, but much lost,
by a repeal of the laws providing for the
poor. It would be to reverse the natural
order of progress, which is not to destroy
such existing institutions as, upon the whole,
are good, but to improve them to the utmost,
and, in addition, to build up others which
are better. For a long time, some who
have property will not act at all in behalf

PRESCRIBED OBJECTS OF BENEFICENCE. 49

of the needy, unless they are permitted to
act in this convenient way. Let the Chris-
tian rejoice that they are disposed to act at
all, and heartily cooperate with them ; but
instead of stopping with this, let him, as a
consistent follower of Christ, also exhibit to
the world a style of beneficence as much
superior to it as religious principle is to
motives of prudence, and as the steady
flame of Christian love is to the flickering
spark of natural generosity, or the uncertain
glow of mere sympathy.

The Scripture precepts quoted make it
the fii-st duty of the Church to care for the
poor " who are of the household of faith."
The Christian is brought into a peculiar
and most endearing alliance to his brother-
Christian.. They are of one household —
"the household of faith." Are there any
relations of friendship or of consanguinity
which are nearer than this ? If it is unnat-
ural to leave a parent, a brother, a sister, or
a child to escape from starvation and naked-
ness by taking shelter in a poor-house while
it is possible to provide for them from our
own resources, is it not equally unnatural
thus to neglect those who are of the same
Christian household with ourselves? He
who has passed from death unto life finds

60 THE GREAT QUESTION.

an answer to these questions in his own love
to the brethren. It is natural as well as
Scriptural to give a preference in our bene-
factions to the poor of Christ's household,
and " so much the more" should this be ob-
served, "because the world will love its
own, and them only."

But the Church is also commanded as she
has opportunity to do good unto all men.
'' The poor have the Gospel preached unto
them," we are authorized to regard as among
the brightest evidences of the divinity of the
Christian faith. Indeed, this declaration of
our Lord is expressive of the very genius of
Christianity. As has often been said, it be-
gins among the lower strata of society, and,
having thus laid a firm foundation, works
upward. It removes the causes of poverty
and ignorance, and elevates their victims to
prosperity and influence. The poor, then,
are the special trust of the Church. To them
is her first mission. But to preach the Gos-
pel successfully to the poor, their confidence
must be gained, and their sympathies enlist-
ed, by active benevolence in caring for their
temporal as well as spiritual wants. In this
manner it is the duty of the Church, to the
extent of her ability, to save the worthy poor
from the dreaded necessity of bidding adieu

PRESCRIBED OBJECTS OF BENEFICENCE. 61

to the genial influences of home, and casting
themselves as a last resort upon the hireling
charity of an alms-house. When the Church
generally, heeding the voice of God, and
constrained by the love of Christ, shall prefer
this labor of love to efforts, whether success-
ful or unsuccessful, to hoard up the treasures
of earth, then shall "her righteousness go
forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof
as a lamp that burneth."

We have dwelt so long upon the duty of
beneficence to the poor from a suspicion that
its importance even relatively is underrated.
The interests of time, it is true, admit of no
comparison with the interests of eternity ; but
the sovereign Ruler has as solemnly enjoin-
ed beneficence in the promotion of the for-
mer as of the latter, and however this may
appear to us, we may be assured that
he has done it wisely. He needs no advice
from us, and the economy of his benevo-
lence can receive no improvements at our
hands.

We pass now to consider the duty of henef-
icence in sustaining the institutions of re-
ligion. We have already observed that this
duty is one of the fundamental principles
upon which the Jewish ecclesiastical system
was based, and that this proves that its obli-

52 THE GREAT QUESTION.

gation is universal. The hiistorical parts of
the Bible also afford us clear intimations that
it was required from the earliest ages of the
world. But to these evidences, though of
undoubted authority, we need now only
allude ; for the commands of the Gospel are
as plain as those of the law.

This duty is implied in the great commis-
sion, " Go ye into all the world, and preach
the Gospel to every creature." This command
does not, of course, require all to go forth
themselves as ministers of the Gospel; but
it does make it the great duty of the whole
Church to consecrate her talents and property
to the work of spreading the glad tidings of
salvation throughout the earth. This is so
plain that remarks would rather obscure than
add to its force.

Again, God has called and anointed spe-
cial laborers to the work of preaching the
Gospel. But " how can they preach except
they be sent?" They must, indeed, be sent
of God ; and true to this fact, he will do his
part by supplying them with spiritual graces.
But they must be sent by the Church too.
It is by sending them that the Church is
to go forth by her influence into all the
world in obedience to the command of Christ.
Upon her, then, clearly devolves the duty

PRESCRIBED OBJECTS OF BENEFICENCE. 53

of providing for tlie temporal wants of the
laborers.

But the precepts of the Gospel are specific
upon this subject, as much so as is the great
commission itself: "Let him that is taught
in the word communicate unto him that
teacheth in all good things." " The laborer
is worthy of his hire." The entire force of
the requirements made to the Jews in respect
to the support of the Levites and the worship
of the temple has by the authority of inspi-
ration been transferred to the conscience of
the Church, as expressive of her duty to sup-
port the ministry. " Who goeth a warfare
any time at his own charges? who plant-
eth a vineyard, and eateth not of the fruit
thereof? or who feedeth a flock, and eateth
not of the milk of the flock ? Say I these
things as a man? or saith not the law the
same also ? For it is written in the law of
Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of
the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God
take care for oxen? or saith he it altogether
for our sakes ? For our sakes, no doubt, this
is written : that he that ploweth should plow
in hope ; and that he that thresheth in hope
should be partaker of his hope. If we have
sown unto you spiritual things, is it a great
thing if we shall reap your carnal things?

54 THE GREAT QUESTION.

If others be partakers of this power over you,
are not we rather ? ISTevertheless, we have
not used this power: but suffer all things,-
lest we should hinder the Gospel of Christ.
Do je not know that they which minister
about holy things live of the things of the
temple ? and they which wait at the altar are
partakers with the altar? Even so hath the
Lord ordained that they which preach the
Gospel should live of the Gospel P

Such language as the above ought forever
to hush the unjust and ungenerous murmurs
which are still occasionally heard from
Churches against taking responsibility in
the support of their pastors, and forever to
annihilate the patronizing spirit in which a
meager allowance is still sometimes doled
out to them. To the honor of the Church,
be it said, these disgraces are fast disappear-
ing. The faithful laborer is not an object of
charity ; " he is worthy of his hire." Nor
does the responsibility of soliciting and col-
lecting his dues devolve upon him. This
duty also belongs to the Churches, and should
be attended to by them thoroughly and
promptly, that their pastors, relieved from
all anxiety in respect to their support, and
cheered and strengthened by the perpetual
assurance of the cooperation of those to whom

PRESCKIBED OBJECTS OF BENEFICENCE. 55

they minister, may devote their undivided
energies to the one work of gathering souls into
the Messiah's kingdom, and building them
up in the faith which was once delivered to
the saints.*

But what has the duty of a Christian con-
gregation to support their own minister to
do with beneficence ? " This," says the honora-
ble reader, " is providing for ourselves, and
discharging an obligation which we incur
voluntarily." True, if you receive the em-
bassador of God as your minister, listen to
his preaching, expect him to visit you in
affliction, to attend your funeral, or those of
your loved ones when death shall enter your
dwelling, and to labour for your spiritual
welfare and that of your family, you are un-
der a direct obligation to compensate his
services — an obligation into wdiich you have
entered by your own choice. In this view
of the subj ect he is your laborer, as really
such as are those whom you employ to cultivate

■* It is not to be inferred that the Christian pas-
tor has never a duty to perform in this matter.
The example of Paxil proves the contrary. It well
accords with the relation of the pastor to his people
that he should advise in respect to the plan of operation.
In new fields of labor especially, the people properly
look to the religious teacher as their guide in respect to
this as well as other kindred duties.

66 THE GKEAT QUESTION.

your fields, to tend your flocks, to prepare
food for your family, or to administer to
their bodily wants in sickness. But while he
who ministers to you and your family in
spiritual things is your laborer, he is none
the less a laborer of God ; and it is this fact,
together with the command of God, from
which your obligation to see that he is fur-
nished with the means of support, derives its
chief strength.

It is not, however, merely for your inter*
ests and those of the family who of right
look to you to furnish them with the preach-
ing of the Gospel and pastoral watch-care,
that the Christian minister is called to labor.
God has sent him to preach to multitudes
around you as well as to yourself and your
family. It is their duty to cooperate with
you in his support ; but by some of them it
is probably neglected. Hence it becomes
necessary for you to do more than your just
proportion as a member of society ; and that
which is required of you because of the neg-
lect of others, is toward them a benevo-
lent contribution. God sends his laborer as
a missionary to the heathen around you, and
calls upon you as his steward to sustain him.
Still, toward your Christian pastor, what-
ever you give and do is simple justice. It

PEE8CEIBED OBJECTS OF BENEFICENCE. 57

is for the highest interests of yourself and
family to have his services, whatever sacri-
fice it may cost you.

All this is so plain as to admit of no con-
troversy. But it would be by no means just
to infer, that in a community where all but
a few poor Christians refuse to do anything,
it is always the duty of those few to assume
the entire responsibility of supporting a min-
ister and his family. This, in some cases,
would be impossible. Yet there are no ex-
ceptions to the rule that the Christian labor-
er must, by some means, have a support. If
it were wise to do so God might, indeed,
make a part or all his laborers so that they
should have no wants ; or he could command
the clouds to rain the corn of heaven upon
them, furnish their bodies with garments
which would wax not old throughout the term
of their ministry, send them down a habita-
tion from the celestial world, and as a sub-
stitute for books, himself communicate to
them all knowledge essential to the highest
success of their calling. But this Infinite
"Wisdom has not seen to be best. The wants
of those who are called to proclaim the glad
tidings of salvation, and of their families, are
similar to those of others.

Plainly, then, those Churches which are

58 THE GREAT QUESTION.

unable fully to support a preacher, should not
expect his full services unless they are aided
by missionary contributions from abroad. If
what they are able to give, combined with
such assistance as they can secure, will
afford him only a partial support, still they
can j ustly ask only a corresponding amount of
labor from him. It may be his duty to labor
a part of the time in connection with another
Church, or to supply the deficiency in his
support by working with his hands as Paul
did. It cannot be his duty to starve himself
and his family, nor to involve himself in
debt.

But however poor a Church may be, if
they require the full services of the preacher,
it is no longer a question what their duty is.
They actually take the responsibility of see-
ing that, by some means, he is furnished
with a reasonable support, even though to
do so they must " sell their possessions."
They may have mistaken their duty in tak-
ing the responsibility, but this cannot affect
their present duty of discharging it now that
it has been assumed. Nor does this duty
devolve upon everybody in general and no-
body in particular. The responsibility is
individual, and is limited only by ability
and influence, though, of course, it rests

PEESCKIBED OBJECTS OF BENEFICENCE. 59

more immediately upon the leading members
of the Church. This conclusion cannot be
evaded, and no honest man, not to say
Christian, desires to evade it.

It is a matter of great rejoicing that the
principles contended for in these remarks
are now recognized in so many of our
Churches. They are certainly acted upon in
all those Churches which enjoy steady pros-
perity, and this must continue to be the case
so long as a just God rules. Let them also
be adopted by such Churches as have been
accustomed to excuse themselves from duty
on the plea of inability, and one of the causes
of their inability will speedily disappear.
Our lay brethren will not ask us to waste a
paragraph in apology for these plain words.
The duty to which they relate is as sacred as
any which the Church owes to God ; and,
moreover, it bears so fundamental a relation
to all the great enterprises of beneficence
for the world's salvation, that, in general,
more than in proportion to its neglect will
be the neglect of them all.

But the duty of Christians is not limited
to the support of their own pastors, to pay-
ing those laborers whom they employ to
administer spiritual things directly to them.
God requires the Church to adopt all his

60 THE GREAT QUESTION.

laborers as hers, and to hold up their hands
by her hearty cooperation in providing for
their temporal wants. Her duty to do this
is implied in the fact that they are called of
God, and it cannot in the least be affected
by the quarter of the globe to which he
sends them. In admitting that they are
God's laborers, the Church admits her duty
to sustain them, and to do it in the same
spirit of unreserved sacrifice which he
expects of them.

[N^othing can be farther from the truth
than that none are required to sacrifice
except those whose immediate duty it is
to preach the Gospel to the destitute and
the benighted. They must, indeed, dis-
charge their duty — do all they can — even
though the Church neglect them ; but they
are as really entitled to a support as are
other laborers. A woe is upon them if
they preach not the Gospel ; and a woe is
upon the Churches if they perform not the
part just as imperiously demanded of them.
The great commission is addressed to the
entire Church militant, and makes it as dis-
tinctly the duty of all Christians to place
everything — time, talents, property — upon
the altar of consecration to Christ and his
cause, as of those who are called to the

PKESCRIBED OBJECTS OF BENEFICENCE. 61

immediate work of preaching, whether in
Christendom or heathendom.

Indeed, God requires all his people to be
a united band of laborers in his service in
the great work of restoring the world to
himself. The only distinction which he has
made is, that he has appointed them to dif-
ferent stations, and has assigned to each
that part of the work which he is most
capable of performing, and which is best
suited to his own wants as a probationer for
heaven.

In the present state of things it cannot be
otherwise than that the different stations of
Christian duty should be very dissimilar in
the amount of suffering involved in them.
But the more favored in this respect, instead of
taking advantage of their stations to satiate
themselves with everything the heart can
desire, and to exalt themselves above their
suffering brethren, thus making their already
heavy burdens still heavier by adding the
weight of their own heartlessness, should
rather by every means in their power seek
to equalize the burdens. They should
relieve them of all burden with resrard to
the means of temporal support, and by
heartily and practically expressing their
sympathy, aid them in bearing those bur-

62 THE GREAT QUESTION.

dens which are unavoidable in their work.
This is required by mandates as explicit as
any which have been issued from the eter-
nal throne. "Thou shalt love thy neigh-
bor as thyself." " Use not liberty for an
occasion to the flesh, but by love serve out
another." " Bear ye one another's burdens,
and so fulfill the law of Christ." No faith-
ful minister of Christ desires the Church to
bestow upon him a princely revenue. But
is it anything more than reasonable — is it
more than obedience to these divine pre-
cepts, that those whose responsibilities are
lighter, and whose trials are comparatively
small, should be willing to provide for their
brethren who are called to endure hardships
and to discharge severer duties, even more
liberally than they do for themselves ?

The duty of the Church to support those
who are called to the work of preaching,
obviously implies the duty of providing for
them and their families when age, or disease,
or accident disqualifies them for service.
Indeed, in reference to such the duty is
emphasized by additional considerations.
Those laborers who are in health and vigor,
if neglected by the Church, can devote a
portion of their time to some other employ-
ment which will secm*e them a support ;

PRESCRIBED OBJECTS OF BENEFICENCE. 63

but to the disabled this is impossible.
Again, it is no longer a question whether
the Church will approve of these men as
Christian laborers. She has accepted them,
and their work is done. She has thus virtu-
ally agreed to see that they are amply pro-
vided for, and they have a right to expect
this from her.

This duty also implies an obligation to
erect in proper localities suitable Church
edifices, and, after they are erected, to keep
them neat and in good repair. It further
requires us to suj)ply our families with re-
ligious reading, and, by our money and in-
fluence, to aid in sustaining libraries for the
use of our Sunday schools and congregations.
Finally, it implies the duty of cooperating
in all such philanthropic and educational in-
stitutions as are the offspring of Christianity
and are auxiliary to its promotion. These
are all matters of importance ; but we need
not dwell on them here. We allude to
them only to point them out as objects of
conscience toward God.

64. THE GREAT QUESTION.

CHAPTEK Y.

LIBERALITY REQUIRED.

On how liberal a scale does God require us
to give for tlie promotion of his cause ? For
light upon this question we will first revert
to the requirements made of the Jews. These
will aid us to form an idea of what liberality
is in the eye of the divine benefactor. They
are a perpetual memorial that he expects
large sacrifices of his people. Now, if we
add the tithes and various ofi'erings and ben-
efactions constantly required of the Jew, we
shall find, as others have estimated, that they
amount to full one-fourth^ if not one-third
of his entire income, and all this, let it be
remembered, exclusive of the extraordinary
outlays for the tabernacle in the wilderness
and the temple at Jerusalem — the amount
expended upon the latter alone, at the
lowest estimate, exceeding the cost of all
the Christian Churches ever erected in this
nation.

To many persons, these demands upon
the Jew appear so far above the possible

LIBEEAJLITY REQUIRED. 65

standard of duty to them as to afford but
little instruction. But what ground is there
for such a conclusion? Are our privileges
inferior to those of the Jews ? or has God
dealt less bountifully with us as a people
than with them? Certainly not. Are the
calls of beneficence less numerous now than
they were in their times ? The reverse is
the case. The systematic charities required
of the Jews were healthful in their influence,
and a preventive of pauperism. Besides,
the way was not then prepared for foreign
missionary enterprises. The field of their
required charities was circumscribed by the
narrow limits of their own territory. But
we live in the perfect dispensation of the
Gospel, and the field of our beneficence is
the world. Almost every part of the earth
is open for the spread of saving truth.
More than six hundred millions of our
fellow-men are perishing for lack of the
bread of life, w^iicli God has committed to
us as his stewards in great abundance.
Now, in view of these circumstances, shall
we claim that the standard of liberality to
the Christian Church should be below that
required of the Jews ? Some, indeed, should
not be expected to give a third of their in-
come. There may be those who cannot, in

6Q THE GREAT QUESTION.

general, consistently give more than a tenth.
But the rich can give half, and in many
cases ought to give all that remains after
economically meeting their current ex-
penses. Many have already acquired too
much, and ought to give a part of the prin-
cipal. Upon the whole, then, instead of re-
garding a third as above the true standard,
must we not rather conclude that a pros-
perous Church should, upon an average,
give even more than this ?

But the Christian is not left to mere infer-
ence in respect to this duty. The Gospel is
not, indeed, specific with regard to the
amount or proportion which should actually
be appropriated to charitable and religious
purposes ; but neither does it cancel any
claim of the law upon man's possessions.
On the contrary, it sums up, perfects, and
enforces them all in the great law of love,
of which the religious charities required of
the Jews were only a limited application.
"Thou shaltlove the Lord thy God with all
thy heart, and thou shalt love thy neighbor
as thyself" — this is the Gospel standard of
beneficence, a standard which, Hke every
other part of the Gospel system, is of univer-
sal adaptation. We enjoy greater freedom,
but commensurate with our freedom is the

LIBERALITY KEQUIKED. 67

greatness of our trust. We are so much tlie
more responsible stewards.

As eveiy feature of contrast between the
two dispensations would lead us to expect,
the standard of Christian charity is uniform-
ly placed higher than the Jewish. "Was the
Jew commanded to open his hand wide to
his poor brother? The command of our
Lord is, " Freely ye have received, freely
give." Was the former expected to give a
third of his income ? To the Christian upon
whom the calls of charity are more numer-
ous, when his entire income is insufficient to
respond to them, the distinct command of Him
who spake with authority is, " Sell that ye
have and give alms." Broader still is the
command, " Be ye therefore merciful as
your Father also is merciful." Similar pre-
cepts, emphasized in the strongest manner
by promises and threatenings, abound in the
teachings of our Saviour and of his inspired
apostles. To enforce this duty, and to en-
couragement in its performance, in one in-
stance St. Paul devotes two entire chapters
— 2 Cor. viii, ix.

Then, as the crowning evidence of our
duty upon this subject, and a concentration
of the motive power which lies in it, we
have this great law of Christian charity per-

68 THE GREAT QUESTION.

fectlj embodied in the character of our
Lord, who, " though he was rich, yet for onr
sakes he became poor, that we through his
poverty might be rich." Here is the stand-
ard of our duty in the clear light of a per
feet and authoritative example — an example,
too, which as Christians we profess to adopt.
To this the inspired apostles often appeal.
" He died for all, that they which live should
not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto
Him which died for them and rose again."
" Hereby perceive we the love of God, because
he laid down his life for us : and we ought
also to lay down our lives for the brethren."
"Let this mind be in you which was also in
Christ Jesus." Christ has also explicitly
commanded us to follow him. "If any
man will come after me let him deny himself,
and take up his cross, and follow me."
" Whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not
all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple."
Are these, then, the terms of Christian disci-
pleship ? Yes, these are the unqualified
terms prescribed by the Master himself, reit-
erated with the most solemn emphasis, and
uniformly and uncompromisingly demanded
of all who desired to become his followers. To
the rich young man who asked him, "Good
Master, what good thing shall I do that I

LIBERALITY EEQUIEED. 69

may have eternal life ?" his final prescript
was, " Sell that thou hast and give to the
poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven:
and come and follow me." " But," some
are ready to ask, " must we actually dispos-
sess ourselves of everything which we call
our own ?" Possibly not ; but you must be
willing to do so for Christ's sake, and it may
even be demanded of you. When our prop-
erty is an impediment to our salvation, or to
the work which the Master would assign to
us, or is specially needed by the exigencies
of his cause, he requires that it be all ap-
propriated immediately. Doubtless some
such reasons existed in the case of the young
man referred to. But in every case He re-
quires us to forsake all that w^e have by ac-
knowledging our possessions as absolutely
his, and by employing them freely in his
service to the full extent to which they are
needed to secure the highest success of his
cause.

Thus, obviously, the twelve disciples un-
derstood the requirements of their Lord. It
is improbable that any of them literally
abandoned their property, or even appropri-
ated it all immediately to purposes of charity.
Subsequently to their call it incidentally ap-
pears that Peter's family, including his

70 THE GREAT QUESTION.

wife's mother, resided in his own house, that
he had a ship of his own, and that John's
means were so ample that our Lord commit-
ted to him the care of his own mother.
There was probably no occasion for an im-
mediate outlay of all their possessions. But
whatever the disciples had they held as stew-
ards of Christ, ever subject to his disposal.

Such were also the views and practice of
the primitive Christians generally who re-
ceived instruction directly from the lips of
our Lord and the apostles. Constrained by
the love of Christ they acknowledged entire
allegiance to him, regarding it as only their
reasonable service to devote their energies,
their property, and their lives to his cause.

How nobly did the infant Church at
Jerusalem respond to the claims of their
Lord at the time of the first great ingather-
ing of souls! No wild scheme of a reor-
ganization of society excited them to ex-
travagance ; but, to meet an urgent want of
their common Redeemer, they came forward
freely, prompted by the law of love en-
throned in their hearts, and " showed their
faith by their works," by appropriating not
their income only, but their lands and
houses. "As many as were possessors of
lands or houses sold them, and brought the

LIBEKALITY REQUIRED. Yl

prices of the things that were sold, and laid
them down at the apostles' feet : and distri-
bution was made unto every man according
as he had need." When the Christians at
Jerusalem, under the violent persecution to
which they were exposed, were bereft of
their property and reduced to extreme
want, then in turn other Churches showed
toward them a liberality similar to that
which they had exhibited at the time of the
Pentecostal revival. Of the Macedonian
Churches, though "in a great trial of afflic-
tion," St. Paul declares that " the abundance
of their joy, and their deep poverty, abounded
unto the riches of their liberality. For," he
adds, " to their power I bear record, yea,
and beyond their power, they were willing
of themselves ; praying as with much en-
treaty, that we would receive the gift, and
take upon us the fellowship of the minister-
ing to the saints."

In presenting the example of the self-
sacrificing zeal of the Macedonian Chris-
tians to the Church at Corinth, the apostle
exhorts them also to abound in the grace of
liberality. But throughout his stirring ex-
hortation to them, extending through the
eighth and ninth chapters of his second
epistle, his words are those of encourage-

72 THE GKEAT QUESTION.

ment and expectation. He assures them
of his great confidence in them, and ac-
knowledges their readiness of mind to re-
spond heartily to the call of charity and duty
when he first introduced the subject to them
a year before. " For as touching the min-
istering to the saints," says he, " it is super-
fluous for me to write to you : for I know
the forwardness of your mind, for which I
boast of you to them of Macedonia, that
Achaia was ready a year ago ; and your
zeal hath provoked very many."

I^or did this characteristic disappear at
the death of the apostles. As history
abundantly testifies, the Church was dis-
tinguished by the same zeal for centuries.
Examples illustrative of her benevolent
spirit brighten every page of her history.

Even in that long night of centuries
during which the energies of the Church
were repressed on every side by hierarchal
power, though much of her zeal was mor-
bid, fanatical, and misdirected, her oflTerings
were vastly greater in proportion to her
means than are those of the Church at the
present day.

But why is this ? "Why with these clear
evidences of duty before her — with the in-
spu'ing example of her divine Master, and

LIBERALITY REQUIRED. 73

this bright cloud of witnesses shining upon
her — with an immortal crown for her sure
reward — with her abundant resources, and
the long-bolted doors of a perishing world
thrown open, and numerous volunteers ready
as soon as the means shall be furnished to
enter with the bread of life— why in view
of all this is the Church so deficient in her
benefactions ? Is she willfully deaf to the
voice of God ? Has she resolved to repudi-
ate the law of love ? Has she sufiered cov-
etousness to usurp the throne of her heart ?
'No ; we will not believe it. Little less than
this seems to be true of some whose names
are enrolled in the records of the Church ;
and this perhaps is not strange now that
Christianity has so wrought itself into the
deepest convictions of mankind that a pro-
fession of it in some form is popular. All
such Church-members, except they repent,
wait the certain doom of unfaithful stewards.
But Christ has yet a people on the earth,
yea, a greater number than ever before, and
those too who will show themselves, as emi-
nently as Christians of any age, " a peculiar
people, zealous of good works."

There is no occasion for despair. In a
great degree the deficiency of the Church is
traceable to natural causes, and these can

74 THE GREAT QUESTION.

and ought to be removed. The truth is, a
false discipline has subjected the Church to
false habits. For ages that which she should
have been allowed to give as free-will offer-
ings, guided by her reason and conscience,
was extorted from her by the fear of crafty
priests, who assumed to monopolize the Re-
deemer's merits, and threatened with the
fires of purgatory all who refused to pur-
chase salvation at such a price as they were
disposed to demand. And when, at length,
the Church escaped from this unnatural
bondage, vagueness in her sense of responsi-
bility, in respect to her property, was but a
natural result. The Scripture motives to
beneficence, which should have been kept
constantly before her, had so long been
crowded out of view that they were among
the least known of all tlie revelations of the
Gospel ; and it is not very singular that the
process has been slow by which these motives
have been recovered, and in all their har-
mony and power placed anew before the
mind of the Church. We venture the opinion
that this work, which devolves upon the
guiding minds of the Church, has yet been
but very imperfectly performed. Some-
thing, however, has been done, and not in
vain, as is proved by the fruits.

LIBEEALITT REQUIRED. Y5

From the time that the Church began to
throw off the yoke of hierarchal power with
which a corrupt priesthood had burdened
her, and to bring her offerings to the treas-
ury of the Lord, influenced by a calm sense
of duty, and prompted by the impulses of
Christianity, her missionary zeal has been
steadily advancing, and, as a whole, at a
rapidly-increasing ratio.

Examples of what may without profana-
tion be called Christian liberality are mul
tiplying. Mr. Samuel Budgett, of England,
— "The Successful Merchant," — though nat-
urally possessed of a strong passion for gain,
in the earlier part of his career repeatedly
gave away his last shilling ; and in his sub-
sequent prosperity giving became a part of
his regular work, his contributions often
amounting weekly to hundreds of dollars.

A noble example is also that of the late
Amos Lawrence, of Boston. Entering upon
life without property, and upon business as
a clerk with a small salary, he was enabled
by his own honest industry and enterprise
before his death to give to the cause of be-
nevolence, in its various forms, the princely
sum of seven hundred thousand dollars.

We might, if appropriate, mention a score
of living examples of Christian men who, by

76 THE GREAT QUESTION.

giving liberally from the first, have in the
order of Providence been eminently suc-
cessful in business, and are now giving
nearly or quite their entire income. May
God speed the day when this shall be the
rule instead of the exception !

But it is not from the abundance of the
rich only that the benevolent contributions
of the Church are annually increasing, but
much more from the gifts, generally greater
in proportion to their means, of those who
are yet in humble circumstances. These
attract not the eye of the world ; but they
are very precious in the sight of the Lord.

Thus we have great occasion for encour-
agement and courage. Within about a
century all the great enterprises of the
Church for the evangelization of the world
have had their birth ; and already their
results exceed the most sanguine expecta-
tions of their early friends. Hardly even a
professed Christian can now be found who
is so antiquated as to be affected by the
narrow prejudices which at first so exten-
sively and violently obstructed the mission-
ary movement ; and, within a brief period,
the contributions of the Church for the
Missionary, Bible, Sunday school, and Tract
societies, have increased tenfold.

LIBERALITY REQUIRED. Y7

But the liberality of the Church is yet far
below the standard of duty. Her contribu-
tions need to be increased tenfold more.
She seems not to know what to do when
urged to bring her benefactions up to the
plain teachings of the Gospel. Though
made to see that this is her duty, still it
seems utterly impracticable. But this is
not so. The commandments of God are not
grievous to those who observe them all. If
we attempt to conform to the Gospel stand-
ard of liberality without method, or by a
method of our own invention, we shall
undoubtedly find it hard ; but if we avail
ourselves of the method which God has
prescribed, the difficulties will disappear.
What the divinely-prescribed method is, we
shall endeavor to answer in subsequent
chapters ; and we invite the reader's care-
ful and candid attention.

78 THE GREAT QUESTION.

CHAPTEE YL

SYSTEM KEQriRED.

We have already seen that a liberal benefi-
cence is enjoined in the Bible upon all as a
religious duty, that its objects are divinely
prescribed, and that the purpose of God in
requiring it is nothing less than our own
eternal salvation, and the restoration of the
world to himself. But yet another require-
ment claims our attention, and one practically
the weightiest of all ; because upon an observ-
ance of it depends the probability and even
possibility of fully observing those previously
considered. It is made our duty to he sys-
tematic in our beneficent efforts.

This duty is clearly taught in the laws of
God requiring beneficence of the Jews. We
defer, as more apposite in another place, the
inquiry how far these laws themselves are
obligatory upon us. There can be no doubt,
however, that the principles which charac-
terize them are immutable. Now system
is a principle entering into each distinct
enactment. The Jews were not simply re-
quired to give, and for particular objects,

SYSTEM EEQUIRED. Y9

and with liberality ; but they were required
to give a portion of all their income, to give
before making any appropriations for their
own use, and, as the minimum, to give a
fixed proportion. From this, then, the Chris-
tian may at least learn the duty of system. in
beneficence.

But this duty is also directly inculcated in
various passages of Scripture unquestionably
designed for the whole Church. Prov. iii, 9 :
"Honor the Lord with thy substance, and
with the first-fruits of all thine increase."
Lev. xxvii, 30: "All the tithe of the land is
the Lord's." 1 Cor. xvi, 2 : " Upon the first '
day of the week let every one of you lay by
him in store, as the Lord hath prospered him."
These precepts will receive particular atten-
tion in distinct chapters. We quote them
now simply to prove the general duty of sys-
tem in our benefactions, and this appears on
the very surface of their teachings.

Having thus shown that the religious
obligation of system in beneficence rests on
the immovable basis of the published law of
God, we invite the reader's attention in the
remainder of this chapter to the harmony of
this requirement with the expectations of
reason and the teachings of the unwritten
volume of divine Providence.

80 THE GEEAT QUESTION.

We observe first that system in all things
is a universal dictate of reason. Every pro-
cess of reason is systematic. Hence, to dis-
regard system is to be untrue to the noblest
endowment of the human mind. To under-
take any work, then, without system is un
worthy of man as a rational being. But if
reason requires system in the humblest of
callings in life, how much more in the sub-
lime work of Christian beneficence in the
salvation of the world.

Again : this requirement accords with the
bestowments of Providence upon us. God
gives to us systematically. As we have
already seen, his whole economy is a vast
scheme of beneficence, system within system,
every part so adjusted as to operate with
perfect regularity, and in harmony with
every other part. It is true, sin has tempo-
rarily disturbed the operations of this glori-
ous system of divine beneficence. Man has
sometimes suffered from the unfeeling ava-
rice of his brother, and oftener from his own
indolence. Occasionally scarcity has been
experienced by a nation. Yet the Bible
authorizes the affirmation, that not in a
single instance has man been permitted to
suffer want not the result of his own fault,
except it were seen to be in harmony with

SYSTEM KEQUIRED. 81

tliat comprehensive plan which regards his
eternal well-being, l^ever does the infinite
Benefactor forget our returning wants. He
always supplies them, unless by withholding
he can accomplish for us a disciplinary pur-
pose, more sublimely beneficent. Probably,
however, there has not been a year since the
creation which has not been so crowned with
goodness as to afford a sufiiciency for the
wants of all. "God has never left himself
without witness in that he did good, and
gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful
seasons, filling our hearts with food and
gladness;" and he has declared that " while
the earth remaineth, seed-time and harvest,
and cold and heat, and summer and winter,
and day and night, shall not cease." Mo-
mently he upholds us by his power, and in-
vigorates us with his air, and gladdens our
hearts by his tender regard for our minutest
wants. With comparatively rare exceptions,
daily he spreads our tables with food con-
venient for us, and prospers the lawful work
of our hands or our heads, and nightly bless-
es us with undisturbed repose. Weekly he
gives us a Sabbath of rest from toil, and
permits us to assemble in his own house, and
share with the angels in the honors of wor-
shiping him, and in the richer manifesta-
C

82 THE GREAT QUESTION.

tions of his love. Yea, oft as we peruse his
word he addresses to us the counsels of his
wisdom ; and oft as we lift our hearts to him
in prayer, he opens the windows of heaven
and showers upon us the blessings of his
grace. The circling seasons each come
laden with peculiar blessings. Goodness
and mercy, with a fresh supply for every
step, attend us in all our journey from in-
fancy to the close of our earthly pilgrimage.
'Now the lesson here inculcated is plain. In
bestowing upon us systematically, our heav-
enly Father teaches us to be systematic in
discharging the duty which he requires of
us to distribute a portion to our needy breth
ren. If we would fully discharge this duty,
it is really the most convenient to give as
systematically as we receive. This is also
the dictate of gratitude. Besides, by requir-
ing us to be merciful as he is merciful, he
has made his example infinitely authoritative.

Again : this duty is implied in the fact
that the calls of beneficence are systematic.
These calls are from God, and they are as
systematic as his providential care over the
world. We have before stated the pre-
scribed objects of beneficence to be the relief
of the poor and the support of religion.

I^ow divine law has determined the fre-

SYSTEM REQUIRED. 83

quency and measure of the wants of the poor,
and has made their recurrence as regular as
the succession of day and night. If we can
supply them for a month in advance, that
may sometimes do ; but to neglect them for a
month, because after that we could attend
to their wants more conveniently, would be
to doom them to perish.

This lesson of Providence is so obvious
and so important, that probably it was never
disregarded in the provisions of civil govern-
ment for the poor. And shall the Church
be less observant of its teachings ? As cer-
tainly as that Christianity shall continue its
career of triumph in the earth, the Church
shall one day take this whole work of charity
out of the hands of the state. She is not yet
able to do this ; but what she can do she can
and ought to do in a manner responsive to
the calls of Providence.

So also the cause of religion is systematic
in its wants. Those who are appointed to
the work of preaching, whether in Christian
or in heathen lands, have daily wants simi-
lar to those of other men ; and, besides, they
are constantly subject to expenses peculiar
to their station. If it seemed wise in the
sight of God miraculously to feed his minis-
ters and their families with manna for the

84 THE GREAT QUESTION.

first few weeks after entering upon their
stations, or to let them down chariots from
heaven, that at the close of each day's toil
they might ascend to celestial mansions, the
Churches might, without culpability, defer to
provide them with means of support until
they had actually become indebted to them
for a few weeks' service. But with facts as
they are, certainly no Church whose atten-
tion has been kindly and faithfully called to
the subject, unless from absolute necessity,
can do this without disregarding the calls of
God upon her, and incurring his displeasure.
Again : the duty of system in beneficence
is implied in its superior efiiciency. System
is indispensable to success in every enter-
prise. It is OHe of the chief characteristics
which distinguish successful from unsuccess-
ful men in every calling in life. Without
system, men of the largest natural endow-
ments, though industrious and persevering,
permanently efi'ect but little. With system,
men of only ordinary natural powers have
made the grandest achievements for immor-
tality. It is scarcely an exaggeration to say
that system multiplies the power of man a
hundredfold. It secures the full, harmoni-
ous, healthful, and concentrated exercise of
all his energies. It insures him against

SYSTEM REQUIRED. 85

waste of time, strength, and opportunity;
inspires him with confidence, increases his
interest in his calling, intensifies his pur-
poses, and thus constantly augments his
power. It would be stale to quote illustra-
tions of this general truth. Every name
prominent in history affords an example,
and they are found within the circle of every
one's acquaintance in all the pursuits of life.

ISTo other work, however, so imperiously
demands system as does the work of Chris-
tian beneficence. This work infinitely tran-
scends every other in the excellence of its
nature, as well as in the grandeur and dig-
nity of its results. It is the great work of
life, and is eternal in its consequences. To
expect fully to accomplish the subjugation
of the world to Christ by occasional, isolated
effort, put forth at convenience, or at the
bidding of accidental impulse, is as foolish
as it would have been in the fathers of the
Revolution to have thought successfully to
resist the power of Great Britain by com-
mitting their cause exclusively to priva-
teers.

What place, indeed, can planless efforts
have in the perfect system of the infinite
Benefactor ? We are not, of course, under-
stood to represent all the efforts of the

86 THE GREAT QUESTION.

Churcli as having this character. Undoubt-
edly the efforts of every earnest Christian
are, to some extent, characterized by sys-
tem ; but in proportion as there is deficiency
in system there must be waste, and in pro-
portion as such deficiency results from want
of religious principle the efforts are not-
genuine. They are not offerings of Christian
beneficence. God, as a sovereign, has a
right to do with them as he pleases ; but we,
as professedly Christian laborers, have no
right to look for good results from them.

System tends to fortify the Christian
against selfishness — the great enemy of be-
neficence— and to cultivate love, the source
of its vitality and strength, and its natural
and powerful ally. It forms an attach-
ment to the work itself, which brings to it a
more energetic, vigorous, and whole-hearted
devotion. It contributes to prosperity in
business, and so enlarges the means of giv-
ing. It induces habits of beneficence, and
thus secures constancy. It promotes econo-
my, and thereby saves for beneficence that
which extravagance would squandei!-.

Such is a glance at the advantages which
a well-arranged system brings to the Chris-
tian in his efforts to extend the victories of
the Cross. When we remember that the

SYSTEM REQUIRED. 87

largest liberality consistent with general
prosperity is required of ns, with what ac-
cumulated force do these advantages urge
upon us the duty of adopting at once, if we
have not already done so, the most efficient
system which the light of reason and revela-
tion enable us to discover. Having done
this, we shall begin to see and feel that the
Gospel standard of liberality is a practicable
one. With the exception of the few who
are already examples to the Church, Chris-
tians would be able the first year to increase
their contributions to the great enterprises
for the world's salvation fourfold, and in all
probability within a few years tenfold.

The practicability of liberality with sys-
tem has been thoroughly tested. System
enabled God's ancient people to give in the
various tithes and ofi:erings at least one-
fourth of their income ; and yet, while they
remained faithful to the requirements, to
prosper in temporal things beyond any co-
temporary nation. System enabled John
Wesley to give at first £2 a year, after that
£32, then £92, and so on until he had given
more than a hundred thousand dollars, be-
sides bequeathing to the Christian cause an
active life of almost unparalleled usefulness,
and in his published works an imperishable

88 THE GEE AT QUESTION.

treasure. System has enabled many Chris-
tians from the first, as the minimum, to
give a tenth of all, and, by their unanimous
testimony, always with the signal blessing of
God, often enabling them to multiply the pro-
portion as life advanced.

Several noble examples have lately been
bequeathed to the Church ; and numbers of
Christians, here and there, among the poor
as well as the rich, convinced of duty and
inspired with hope, have improved the lesson
of their experience, and are successfully
acting upon similar plans. All who have
adopted the practice of systematic benefi-
cence testify to its superiority. Having
tried the doctrine, they declare it to be of
God.

We have now seen that the duty of sys-
tem in beneficence is sanctioned by the uni-
versal dictates of reason ; that it is implied
in the system which characterizes the divine
benefactions to us, and the calls for benefi-
cence upon us ; and that it is corroborated
by the superior efficiency of systematic be-
neficence as demonstrated by experience,
and by the impossibility of fully meeting the
claims of the Gospel without it. "We find
yet another conclusive argument for system
in its necessity to secure the higliest moral

SYSTEM REQUIRED. »y

influence of our efforts upon ourselves ; but
as we shall have occasion to refer to this
in another place, it is sufficient to name it
here.

"We have referred to these indirect evi-
dences of the duty under consideration not
because we suppose the duty disputed, but
for the purpose of placing it clearly and
vividly before the mind. A plain statement
of the duty, receiving as it does the intuitive
response of common-sense, cannot fail to se-
cure general assent. The great error is want
of reflection. The attention of a large ma-
jority of Christians has never been thor-
oughly called to the subject. Some, doubt-
less, are criminally insensible to duty; but
the small minority who have given thought
to the subject, and are alive to a sense of
the duty, generally encounter a difficulty at
the outset in the question what particular
plan they ought to adopt, which occasions
long delay, too often as long as life itself.

This is the point to which we shall here
suppose the Christian reader may have ar-
rived. Seeing and feeling it to be his duty
to enter upon some plan of systematic effort
in the great work of beneficence, and true
in his heart to his vows of fidelity to the
Christian cause, he is disposed promptly to

90 THE GEEAT QUESTION.

obey. Now he proceeds to deliberate.
*'What plan shall I adopt? This is a grave
ij[uestion. Only the wisest and most efficient
plan will meet the demands of duty. I must
take time for thoughtful inquiry. Will arry
of the known plans pursued by other Chris-
tians accord with my circumstances? Shall
I adopt the resolution of Wesley to limit
my annual expenses to a specified sum, and
give all the rest ? This might have been
wise for him ; but my unavoidable expenses
may double in future years. Shall I, with
another Christian, resolve to contribute to
the support of every missionary, or with an-
other, if possible, to have something, if it be
but a single nail in every edifice that is going
up for Christ. All honor to those who have
endeavored to do this; but to me their plans
seem impracticable. Shall I give a portion
of all my income ? or a portion of what re-
mains after meeting my current expenses?
Shall I give five, ten, twenty, or fifty per
cent. ? Shall I lay by in store for the Chris-
tian cause once a week, once a month, or
once a year?"

It is not easy for human judgment to
decide this matter. Is it wonderful that the
devout Christian often finds his wisdom baf-
fled in the attempt? Reason may venture

SYSTEM KEQUIEED. 91

her preferences for some one plan, but she
does it with a hesitation which proves her
voice to be without authority. This difficulty,
great as it is, does not, of course, justify a
neglect of the duty ; but we suspect that in
nine cases in ten it occasions neglect. What
the Christian wants, yea, needs, to enable
him with satisfaction and confidence to enter
at once upon a decisive course of action, is
a few simple rules having the sanction of
Infinite Wisdom. And has not Infinite Wis-
dom furnished him such rules? Certainly it
is reasonable to expect some definite direc-
tions in reference to the method of discharg-
ing a duty to which such prominence has
been given. This has been done in another
case closely analogous to this — the duty of
specially consecrating a part of our time to
relio;ion. The Christian is not left to doubt
whether he shall devote to this purpose a
portion of each week, or only a portion of
each month or year ; nor whether it shall be
a portion of the whole week, or a portion of
the time that shall remain after accumulating
a sufficiency to support his family or station ;
nor whether a seventh or a tenth of the whole
time is the smallest proportion which in any
case can satisfy the demands of this duty ;
nor whether the first or the last day of the

92 THE GEEAT QUESTION.

week shall be devoted to it. To have sub-
mitted these questions to the Christian would
have involved him in inextricable difficulty.
His reason could not satisfactorily answer
them ; therefore revelation has answered
them for him. Neither can human reason
determine similar questions in respect to the
religious duty of devoting a portion of our
property to the Lord. Now shall our expect-
ation be disappointed of finding these too
decided, and with equal clearness, on the
same authority as in the other case ? We think
not.

It seems generally to be supposed that the
precepts of the Bible on this subject are not
obligatory in form, but only require system
in the discharge of the duty, leaving each
individual to adopt such a system as shall be
most convenient in his particular circum-
stances. It would certainly be unjust to
complain of those who have endeavored to
obey these precepts by any method consci-
entiously chosen. The few who have aimed
at conformity to them, though they may
have partially mistaken their import, deserve
the thanks of the Church. We are persuaded,
however, that the teachings of Scripture on
this subject will not admit of any such mod-
ifications, but that they furnish us with a

SYSTEM REQUIRED. 93

plan of operation which is obligatory upon
Christians generally — a plan not so numerous
in its rules as to be impracticable, but just
definite enough to meet a common want, by
answering those great questions which human
reason cannot answer, and thus to guide the
Church militant, without delay, to satisfac-
tory and harmonious as well as systematic
effort.

We invite the reader's attention to what
we understand to be the Scriptural rules on
this subject in the three following chapters,
and we do this assured that every reader of
whom Christ would not be ashamed in pres-
ence of his Father, will examine them with
candor, and, if he shall find them reasonably
sustained, will gratefully accept them as the
divine solution of his difficulties, and prompt-
ly conform to their requirements.

94 THE GREAT QUESTION.

CHAPTEK YH.

FIRST SCRIPTURAL RULE WE ARE REQUIRED

OF ALL OUR INCOME TO MAKE THE FIRST
APPROPRIATION TO THE LORD.

The reader will at once call to mind, that
this rule is a fundamental principle in the
system of beneficence prescribed for the Jew.
Of all the gifts of Providence, whether in
the increase of his flocks, or his herds, or in
the produce of his fields, his orchards, or his
vineyards, he was required to bring the first
to the Lord, or to redeem it by an equiva-
lent. This rule, then, is one of the laws
upon which the Jewish system was based.
The superstructure was temporary, being
adapted only to peculiar circumstances.
But the foundation is immutable, and hence
constitutes, so far as it extends, the true
basis of systematic beneficence in all ages.

It is highly probable, indeed, (and this is
all the Christian has a right to demand as
evidence of a particular duty,) that the rule
we are considering is one of the original laws
given to the first inhabitants of the earth to
govern them and their posterity forever.

FIRST SCRIPTURAL RULE. 95

The first mention of it in the Bible clearly
indicates that it was a duty already under-
stood by the Jews. " Thou shalt not delay
to offer the first of thy ripe fruits and of thy
liquors : the first-born of thy sons shalt thou
give unto me. Likewise shalt thou do with
thine oxen, and with thy sheep." The pre-
fatory clause, "Thou shalt not delay," implies
that this was but a restatement of a well-
known law revealed long before. True,
there are previous allusions to the giving of
tithes, but this is the first recorded command
to give any portion of all; and here it is
assumed that it was a duty generally ac-
knowledged, though by some not promptly
attended to. The Israelite is commanded
to avoid a common delinquency, delaying
the required offerings.

This law, moreover, seems to have been
known generally to the early nations of the
world, and, to some extent, at least, to have
been observed by them. Though most of
them were ignorant of the true God, they
properly regarded the offering of the first-
fruits as , an appropriate expression of grati-
tude to the bountiful giver. Thus Censori-
nus : " Our ancestors, who held their food,
their country, the light, and all that they
possessed, from the bounty of the gods, con-

96 THE GREAT QUESTION.

secrated to them a part of all their property
as a token of their gratitude. As soon as
the harvest was got in, before they had
tasted of the fruits they appointed libations
to be made to the gods. And as they held
their fields and cities as gifts from their
gods, they consecrated a part for temples
and shrines, where they might worship
them." Pliny, Horace, Tibullus, and other
ancient writers, bear repeated testimony to
the same custom. It is well known, too,
that the offering of the first-fruits was a
part of the religion of the aboriginal inhab-
itants of this country. E'ow this custom,
prevailing as it did, and still does, among
nations widely separated, speaking different
languages, having but little intercourse with
each other, and of dissimilar habits, must
have had its origin as far back as when
these nations were one, that is, before the
dispersion of Babel. Yea, the custom is of
such a nature that its origin is unaccounta-
ble on any other hypothesis than that it was
instituted by divine authority.

This is strongly corroborated by the
notice in Gen. iv, 3, 4, of the offerings
made by Cain and Abel. The principal
subject here is the crime of Cain in the
murder of his brother. Their offerings are

FIRST SCRIPTURAL RULE. 97

introduced incidentally because of their con-
nection with the event. We do not look,
then, for a minute description of them. Yet
this brief reference sheds some clear light
upon our subject, and it deserves special
attention because it relates to so early a
period in the history of fallen man. The
fault of Cain seems to have consisted, not in
doing, but in neglecting to do — in keeping
back a part. We read that " Cain brought
of the fruits of the ground an offering (a
minchah) unto the Lord." " Tlie minchah
was in general a eucharistic or gratitude-
offering, and is simply what is implied in
the fruits of the ground brought by Cain to
the Lord, by which he testified his belief in
him as the Lord of the universe, and the
dispenser of temporal blessings."^ Li bring-
ing the minchah Cain doubtless did right.
Such offerings we know were required and
approved in the Mosaic dispensation. The
most learned and judicious commentators
agree in the opinion that Abel brought a
minchah as well as Cain ; but " Abel he
also brought of the firstlings of his flock."
Dr. Kennicott, quoted with approval by Dr.
Clarke and others, maintains that the words
translated " he also brought," &c., should be
* Dr. Adam Clarke.

98 THE GKEAT QUESTION.

rendered, " Abel Irought rr also^ i. e., a min-
chali^ or gratitude-offering ; and besides this
he brought of the first-born of his flock."

This agrees with the alhision in Heb. xi,
4, where it is said, " Abel offered unto God
a more excellent sacrifice {jpleiona tJmsian)
than Cain." Dr. Clarke contends thai
pleiona cannot mean more excellent, but
that it simply expresses the superior number
or magnitude of Abel's offerings. It is
certain that the primary and usual meaning
of this term is more in number or in quantity.
But we need not insist upon the literal mean-
ing or general usage of a word, for in the
phrase " God testifying of his gifts," found
in the same verse, we have proof that Abel
actually did bring a plurality of offerings ;
while it is obvious from Gen. iv, 3, that
Cain brought only a single offering.

Now from all this it is highly probable
that Cain's offering was rejected, not on
account of anything offensive in the offering
itself, but because he withheld another, and
it is likely a more valuable offering, which
God required of him as an acknowledgment
of sin, and of his dependence for salvation
upon the great sacrifice to be made by the
Lamb of God. So much is probable.

But so much as follows is established by

FIRST SCRIPTURAL RULE. 99

the account before us, namely, that at this
early period, but a few years subsequent to the
first transgression, man was required of the
increase of his possessions to bring a portion
to the Lord in religious offerings. The
offerings of Abel certainly were not will-
worship. He was approved because of his
free yet strict observance of the known re-
quirements of God; and Cain was condemn-
ed, because, through self-righteousness, or
selfishness, or both, in some respect he dis-
regarded such requirements. This no one
will doubt.

But we find a law substantially similar to
this at a still earlier date. We are explicitly
taught that God claimed one tree or species
of tree in the garden which Adam was re-
quired to dress and keep as exclusively his.
•And this was a beautiful tree, very likely
the fairest in the garden, and the fruit of it
was good for food. Exactly corresponding
to this, Adam was required to devote the first
day after his creation as a Sabbath to the
Lord. Indeed it appears that it was not
until after he had thus consecrated a day to
the special duties of religion, that the secu-
lar trust of cultivating the garden was com-
mitted to him. The Sabbath, though de-
nominated the seventh, because it followed

100 THE GREAT QUESTION.

the six days' work of creation, was the first
to Adam. With him its duties always pre-
ceded those of the six days. So it was
with the Jew ; and so it is with the Chris-
tian.

The particular disposal made of the offer-
ings of the primitive inhabitants does not a^
all affect their bearing upon our subject
They were brought to the Lord, and dis
posed of according to his directions. Then
probably, there were no poor to be support
ed by charity. Then there was no class of
special laborers like that of the ministry to
be maintained. Then no expensive educa-
tional institutions were needed. Then no
Missionary, Bible, Tract, or Sunday-School
Societies were called for. But man was re-
quired to give a portion to the Lord for the
same reason that he is now ; and that these
great enterprises of Christianity, now that
they are needed, have been made dependent
upon his offerings, namely, because it was
demanded for the protection and promotion
of his interests. The whole history of man,
as a religious being, presented in the Bible,
the entire scheme of Providence in his be-
half, and his own experience, prove that in
his nature, as it is in his fallen state, there is
as deep a necessity for a law like that under

FIRST SCRIPTURAL RULE. 101

consideration as there is for the Sabbath.
We need it to guard us against an unholy
love of gain, and against seeking property
by unlawful means. We need it that every
gift of Providence may become a consecra-
ted possession. We need it that each new
expression of God's love to us may awaken
gratitude in our hearts to him. We need it
that we may constantly remember our rela
tion to God as stewards. Above all, we
need this law, that every new acquisition
may remind us of our dependence upon the
great salvation, to extend a knowledge of
which we are required to contribute.

Now, let the Christian reader bear in
mind, that every clear intimation of God's
will, in whatever form it comes to us, is su-
premely authoritative, and we here submit
the question to him, whether, if Infinite
Wisdom had seen fit to furnish us with the
foregoing evidences only, these would not be
sufficient reasonably to establish the rule be-
fore us as a divine requirement. They
prove that God is well-pleased with those
who observe it, and this demonstrates it to
be a duty. None but the Romanist believes
in supererogatory works. They prove, more-
over, that God has given such a law to man,
and there is not a shadow of evidence that

102 THE GREAT QUESTION.

it has been repealed. Besides, it is ob-
viously a law of universal adaptation.

But, finally, we have the direct command
of God. Prov. iii, 9 : " Honor the Lord

WITH THY SUBSTANCE, AND WITH THE FIRST-
FRUITS OF ALL THINE INCREASE." This is HOt

quoted from the Jewish code of laws. Con-
sequently, whatever may be thought re-
specting the present obligation of that code,
it is unquestionable that this precept is ad-
dressed to man in all ages subsequent to the
time it was revealed, ^ow it as explicitly
teaches the duty of offering to the Lord the
first portion of all, as it does of ofi'ering any-
thing to him. If otherwise, there might be
a question with regard to the proper infer-
ence to be drawn from the fact that a law
similar to this was given to man in the first
age of the world — that it was binding in the
time of the patriarchs — that it was adopted
as a fundamental principle in the Jewish
system — and that it universally commends
itself to the common-sense and moral sense
of man — this direct precept forever puts
the question to rest. The following com-
ment upon it is from a writer whose learn-
ing, piety, and sound judgment entitle his
opinion to the greatest weight : — " The
]viiNCHAH, or gratitude-offering to God,

FIRST SCEIPTUKAL KULE. 103

commanded under the law, is of endless ob-
ligation. . . . Whatever God sends us in the
way of secular prosperity, there is a portion
of it always for the poor, and for God's
cause. When that portion is thus disposed
of, the rest is sanctified ^ when it is with-
held, God's curse is upon the whole."*

It being now established, that of every in-
crease of our possessions we are required to
make the first appropriation to the treasury
of the Lord, the question at once arises,
What portion does the great Giver of all
expect of us ? The resources and circum-
stances of mankind being so various, it is
not remarkable that this question should be
left, to a considerable extent, to our own
judgment, enlightened by the general teach-
ings of revelation and by the indications of
Providence. Yet there is a divinely-pre-
scribed limit below which we cannot fall
without robbing God. This will be the sub-
ject of the next chapter.

o Dr. Adam Clarke.

104 THE GKEAT QUESTION.

CHAPTER Yin.

SECOND SCKIPTUKAL KULE WE AUE REQUIRED

AS THE LOWEST PROPORTION TO GIVE A
TENTH OF ALL.

If we mistake not, tliere is in many minds a
prejudice against this rule which imposes an
obstacle to fair argument in its support.
This, then, seems to be the proper place for a
more distinct inquiry respecting the kind
and degree of evidence which ought to be
satisfactory to us. It is not claimed that the
perpetual obligation of this law is self-evi-
dent, nor that it can be proved beyond the
possibility of a doubt. Such is not the case
in respect to the nature of any doctrine, or
the extent of the claims of any duty of relig-
ion. Indeed, it is a sentiment which Chris-
tians hold in common, that absolute proof
upon every subject so obvious as to call for
no exercise of the understanding, would in-
terfere with the purposes of human probation.
" The evidence of religion not appearing ob-
vious, may constitute one particular part of
some men's trial in the religious sense ; as it
gives scope for a virtuous exercise or vicious

SECOND SCEIPTUKAX KULE. 105

neglect of their understanding in examining
or not examining into that evidence. There
seems no possible reason to be given why we
may not be in a state of moral probation
with regard to the exercise of our under-
standing upon the subject of religion as we
are with regard to our behavior in common
affairs. The former is as much a thing
within our power and choice as the latter."*
In accordance with this remark, quoted
from an acknowledged standard in every
branch of the Church, we find that those in-
stitutions of religion which make the great-
est demands upon us, are at the same time
most demanded by our interests as proba-
tioners ; and we find also, that while abund-
ant evidences of them are placed within our
reach, which, upon candid examination, can-
not fail to commend themselves to our judg-
ment, they are of such a nature, and are so dis-
tributed, as to afford the fullest scope for the
exercise of our undei'standing. Of such in-
stitutions are the Sabbath, which is an assess-
ment upon our time, and religious offerings
making another assessment upon the avails
of our labor during the six days. These in-
stitutions, then, afford a peculiarly favorable
opportunity for testing our candor, by de-
*• Butler's Analogy.

106 THE GREAT QUESTION.

volving upon us the responsibility of investi-
gating the evidences which sustain them,
and determine the measure of their claims
upon us. Further, this seems essential to
our moral freedom. If God should, by a
direct revelation to each individual of such a
character that it could not be questioned, in-
form us in exact terms of his requirements
upon our time and projDerty, and also of the
certain consequences of disobedience, then
disobedience, and consequently voluntary
obedience, would scarcely be possible.

It is plain, moreover, that between these
two institutions, that requiring a portion of
our actual gains conflicts most directly with
a selfish attachment to our possessions. It
is felt to be a light thing to rest a day in
seven, in comparison with relaxing our grasp
upon so large a proportion of all the acquisi-
tions of our toils. Hence we naturally ex-
pect that the proofs of a specific law respect-
ing the required proportion of our gains,
will be somewhat less obvious than those re-
lating to the institution of the Sabbath.
When we have once examined them, how-
ever, we shall find them no less decisive.
Indeed, the proofs that both these institutions,
as required of the Jews, are obligatory upon
us are nearly parallel. So the objections

SECOND SCEIPTITRAL RULE. 107

which naturally arise against them are pre-
cisely similar.

It has often been assumed that the Sab-
bath was an institution peculiar to the Mo-
saic dispensation, because it is nowhere dis-
tinctly stated that it was required or observ-
ed before the time of Moses, and there is no
command relating to it in the New Testa-
ment. To this it has been well replied,
" However the will of God may be manifest-
ed, if it is with such clearness as to exclude
all reasonable doubt, it is equally obligatory
as when it assumes the formality of legal
promulgation ; . . . and if disregarded, it
will be at every man's peril." * Again,
license in the mode of observing the Sabbath
has been pleaded on the ground that we are
not furnished with more definite rules. The
sensible reply is, " Probably the matter has
been so left to * try us ' and prove us, and to
know what is in our heart.' Something may
have been reserved in this case for the exer-
cise of spontaneous obedience ; for that gen-
erous construction of the precept which will
be dictated by devotion and gratitude; and
for the operation of a feeling of indignant
shame, that the only day which God has re-
served to himself should be grudged to him,
*» Watson.

108 THE GREAT QUESTION.

and trenched upon by every petty excuse of
convenience, interest, or sloth, and pared
down, aiid negotiated for in the spirit of one
who seeks to overreach another."*

These remarks apply with emphasis to the
corresponding institution now under consid-
eration. In inquiring into its evidences,
then, let us learn a lesson of caution against
extravagance in our demands. But let not
the institution itself which we are advocating
be mistaken. Confound it not with the per-
nicious and oppressive custom of exacting
tithes by the power of civil law. The ten-
dency of human enactments on the sub-
ject is to change a great privilege to a great
burden, and to substitute a mere cringing
submission to injustice for a high sense of
obligation to God, and a spirit of liberal be-
nevolence toward the world. God required
tithes of his ancient people, but he also re-
. quired them to bring their tithes freely. He
authorized no officer to enforce obedience.
Those who withheld the tithes were respon-
sible only to him. So it is now.

Before inquiring into the evidences of this
law as an existing institution, by way of fur-
ther rescuing it from the prejudice which
obscures and distorts it, we will glance at the

« Watson.

SECOND SCRIPTURAL RULE. 109

probabilities in the case. If we properly
view the subject, some definite rule respect-
ing the required proportion is a reasonable
expectation.

Let it be noticed, first, that a rule seems
needed which shall afford us a proximate
answer to the question how large a portion
we ought to give. This, as before observed,
is one of the questions which human reason
cannot answer. A few might, by extensive
investigation, form some vague conjecture
in respect to the amount needed ; but the
great majority, if candid, could do little
better than guess. They could not deter-
mine whether the proportion should be one-
half or one-hundredth. But if God has
intimated it as his will that as the lowest
proportion he expects a tenth, we all have
something definite from which to reason
upon the subject; while the knowledge that,
in general, much more is expected, affords
ample opportunity for the exercise of our
judgment and the cultivation of liberality,
and devolves upon us a reasonable responsi-
bility. That we should be informed, then,
of the minimum proportion required seems
highly probable.

The probability of this is increased by
the rule already considered. We find that

110 THE GREAT QUESTION-.

something definite has been prescribed — a
portion of all. This meets one want, but it
creates another. The rule seems incomplete.
Shall the portion be the same for the poor as
for the rich, as is the custom of some
Churches in their contributions for the mis-
sionary cause ? or shall the portion be in
proportion to the real ability? Selfishness
often refuses to listen to the dictates of com-
mon-sense. Only a voice of authority will
be heard amid the general clamor for gain.
If any portion would answer, the rule would
be a very acceptable one to the avaricious.
True, we are required to give liberally. But
what is liberality ? We can only determine
by a comparison with some definite stand-
ard. The rich man could not justly con-
clude that he gave liberall}^, simply because
he gave one-half or two-thirds, though he
might so deceive himself as to imagine a
tenth of his thousand or thousands to be a
liberal proportion for him.

But the poor man would be in still greater
difficulty. The whole of his income aflPords
his family only a very moderate support. K
there were no specific rule on the subj ect he
might conclude that nothing was expected
of him. When his attention has been called
to the rule requiring him to give something

SECOND SCRIPTURAL RULE. Ill

from every week's earnings, if a Christian,
he is ready to give the portion or proportion
required of him. But should he give more,
he would be unfaithful to his duties as a
husband and father. It cannot be that he
has been left in utter doubt with regard to
the claims of God upon his income. It
seems indispensable that he should know
what portion is required. Then he can
cheerfully bring it to the treasury of the
Lord, assured that the self-denial, however
■great it may be, to which by so doing he
must subject his loved ones, is approved by
the great Provider, who loves them more
than he does, and will be overruled for their
good.

The probability is further strengthened by
the analogous rule relating to the duty of
devoting a portion of our time to religion,
which we have in the institution of the Sab-
bath. Without this rule, who would have
conjectured that so large a portion of the
time — one whole day in seven — should be
exclusively devoted to this purpose ? What
poor man, whose family, after his utmost en-
deavor, are poorly clad and scantily fed,
would infer from any general precepts on
the subject that he ought to labor to provide
for them only six days in seven ? Could he,

Ii2 THE GREAT QUESTION.

in the absence of a specific law, feel him-
self justified in such a course? But now to
the Christian this is plain. God has spoken.
Of the most destitute as well as of those who
are in afiiuent circumstances, fifty- two days
in the year — one in every seven — he re-
quires that they abstain wholly from worldly
pursuits, and devote the time specially to
religious purposes.

iN'ow, undoubtedly, the grand aim of this
law is the spiritual well-being of man. It
was needful that all men, for at least a sev-
enth of the time, should withdraw their
thoughts from their earthly occupations, and
rest from the toils of this life in the exclu-
sive exercise of their powers upon those
things which concern the life to come. This
is an essential part of the scheme by which
man is favored with the best possible proba-
tion for an eternal Sabbath in the heavenly
world. It is infinitely better that he should
suffer want in that which is peculiar to the
present life, than that he should lose any of
its advantages as a probation for life eternal.
Yet experience has demonstrated that this
law, in all its bearings, is a beneficent one.
It is in harmony with every other law of
God, and hence, instead of plunging any
class into poverty and suffering, it promotes

SECOND SCRIPTtJKAL KULE. 113

the temporal prosperity of all wlio observe
it. Indeed, the Sabbath is preeminently a
blessing to the poor.

But man's spiritual welfare further de-
manded, that of all his acquisitions in the
six remaining days he should devote a por-
tion to the cause of beneficence, and for the
reason that his present existence is proba-
tionary to an eternal existence in the like-
ness of his beneficent Redeemer. Now, as
in the former case, there must be a mini-
mum ; otherwise the proportion might be
reduced below any appreciable value.
A seventh of every one's time holy unto the
Lord, is the lowest proportion which is con-
sistent with man's duty and his interests as
a probationer. So it must be with some
definite proportion of every one's income.
Now should we, by candid inquiry, find
good reason for the conclusion that God ex-
pects of all at least a tenth of their income,
this surely will be no more than might be
expected from what all Christians acknowl-
edge to be the required proportion of time.
Moreover, since we know the Sabbath to be
for the temporal as well as spiritual
interests of the poor, we cannot doubt that
the same is true of whatever law may
have been instituted respecting their duty

114 THE GREAT QUESTION.

to contribute to the cause of benefi-
cence.

Such is the human view. Of course we
do not claim that this shows it to be our
duty to give tithes of alL This is just what
it fails to show. It shows most plainly, that
while there must be something definite in
the divine requirements upon our income —
a limit below which we cannot fall without
trenching upon duty — we are utterly inca-
pable of fixing that limit. Hence it show?
that we need some such law ; and from
analogy it shows a further expectation of it.
It also calls to mind the numerous promises,
in which we are assured that conformity to
the divine standard of liberality, however
great its demands, tends to the promotion of
every good of human life. Thus in the light
of revelation respecting the Sabbath, and of
its general teachings on the subject of liber-
ality, it shows that the enmity which this
law at first encounters from almost every
one, is grounded not in reason, but in the
natural selfishness of the human heart.

ITow, patient reader, we ask again the
advantage of your candor while we endeavor
to show that this particular law has actually
been instituted and is still in force.

In the first place, we invite attention to

SECOND SCEIPTUKAL RULE. 115

certain unmistakable glimpses of the existence
of this law in very earlj times. As elsewhere
noticed, it is unquestionable that God did
reveal to the early inhabitants a complete
system of laws for the regulation of their con-
duct and that of their descendants in all suc-
ceeding ages, and that among these laws was
one requiring a portion of their property for
religious offerings. It is freely granted that
in the brief history of the antediluvian world
the allusions bearing upon our subject are
not very definite. ^ It is the same in respect
to the Sabbath. The proportionate value of
the species of choice fruit required of Adam
to the value of all the products of the garden
cultivated by him is not stated. Nor is it
intimated what ratio the offerings of Abel
and Noah bore to all the increase of their
possessions. We know, however, (if our
chronology may be trusted,) that the confu-
sion of tongues, and the consequent dispersion
and non-intercourse of Noah's descendants,
took place two hundred and fifty years before
his death. Hence the law which Noah obey-
ed in his religious offerings must have been
known at that time, and, so far as there is
agreement in the traces of it found among
the isolated nations which sprung from him,
it is plain that they afford us a truthful index

116 THE GEEAT QUESTION.

to the law. I^ow it is said by those who have
extensively investigated the subject, and are
entitled to our confidence, that '' almost all
nations of the earth have agreed in giving
a tenth of their property to religious uses. "*
Of course we are not to understand that all
men have actually given a tenth, but that
the custom of devoting a tenth to religion is
among the traditions of nearly all nations,
and has been observed generally by devout
worshipers.

Parallel to this, though by no means so
direct and forcible, is the evidence for the
Sabbath found in the custom of various na-
tions of dividing time by weeks of seven days.
This of itself, however, does not even suggest
that the primitive inhabitants were required
to devote the whole of each successive seventh
day to religion. From this alone, indeed,
nothing could be inferred. Yet in view of its
harmony with the law as given by Moses,
and of the hallowing of the first day, men-
tioned in connection with the account of the
creation, the division by hebdomadal periods
is regarded as a valid evidence that the Sab-
bath was required of man at least as early as
the dispersion of Babel. But the world- M'ide
acknowledgment that a tenth of all should be

» Dr. A. Clarke.

SECOND SCRIPTURAL RULE. 117

devoted to religious purposes, aside from its
harmony with the entire range of sacred his-
tory, and with the law as proclaimed upon
Mount Sinai, affords us in itself a distinct
and irrefragable evidence that a law requir-
ing a tenth for the cause of religion was early
revealed to man. Observe, the custom from
which we infer this relates not to a ten-
fold division of property, but to the actual
devotement of one whole tenth to religion.
"We do not say that this alone demonstrates
our position ; but we do say that the unyield-
ing fact before us, in the absence of any
counter evidence, establishes a strong prob-
ability for the law. This fact must have had
some cause. A divine law would be an ade-
quate and natural cause, and no other even
probable cause aan be conjectured.

It is not essential to our argument to know
whether Adam ajad Abel gave a tenth. We
are all descendants of Noah ; and if, as the
fact stated affords us good reason to believe,
this law was in existence in his time, it is
in force now, for it has never been repealed.
Probably, however, the minimum propor-
tion at first required of fallen man was never
changed. Both Noah's father and grand-
father were cotemporary with Adam, the
former for a period of fifty-six years, and the

118 THE GREAT QUESTION.

latter for two hundred and forty-three years.
Doubtless Noah was himself cotemporary
with many of the immediate children of
Adam.

Again : that God required a tenth imme-
diately subsequent to the time of l^oah, is
conclusive from the example of Abraham.
We are informed in Gen. xiv, 20, that "He
gave tithes {i. e. a tenth) of all " to Melchiz-
edek, " who was the priest of the most high
God." Now Abraham was born only two
years subsequent to the death of Noah, and
he must have known the law as observed by
him. There is no intimation that he received
any new law. Besides, the law under which
he acted being identical with that which is
traceable among the nations generally, it is
morally certain that both he and they re-
ceived it through their distinguished an-
cestor. We insist that in the light of the
evidences before us this does not admit of
reasonable doubt. Abraham did not give a
tenth because that proportion accidentally
occurred to him just at that time. A notion
more obviously repugnant to the dictates of
common sense never found an entrance into
the mind of man, than that the divine Law-
giver should borrow the idea of this law
from Abraham, and then subsequently in-

SECOND SCEIPTUEAL RULE. 119

corporate it into the constitution of his gov-
ernment over his chosen people. ]^or did
the nations of the earth borrow it from him ;
for, according to the common chronology,
they had then been separated from each
other for three hundred and thirty -four years.
But mark the style of the historian. "Mel-
chizedek, king of Salem, brought forth
bread and wine : and he was the priest of
the most high God. And he blessed him,
and said, Blessed be Abram of the most
high God, possessor of heaven and earth.
And blessed be the most high God, which
hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand.
And he gave him tithes of all P All this is
narrated, not as though it was unusual, but
as though it was only an ordinary event.
Abraham, returning from a righteous en-
counter with his enemies laden with the
goods he had rescued from them, is met by
Melchizedek, who first extends to him his
hospitalities by setting before him bread and
wine. Having thus refreshed him from his
exhaustion, as the priest of God he bestows
upon him the accustomed blessing, (Num.
vi, 23-26,) and Abraham, as a pious man,
delivered to him the accustomed tithes.

Passing down a period of a hundred and
thirty-four years, we find the next allusion to

120 THE GREAT QUESTION.

this law in the vow of Jacob to give to the
Lord a tenth of all the property that should
be committed to him. And here, too, it
appears, both from the circumstances and
from the language employed, that Jacob
simply vowed allegiance to a known law of
God.

Though younger than his brother Esau,
Jacob was chosen of God to be the successor
of his father Isaac in the line through which
the promise made to Abraham was to be
fulfilled. But his mother, who made him
her favorite son, distrusted the divine prom-
ise, and undertook to accomplish his promo-
tion by unrighteous means. Jacob yielded
to the temptation, and adopted her plans.
Instead of trusting in God, he dishonorably
and cruelly took advantage of his brother's
exhaustion to wrest from him his birthright,
and then, by a base resort to deception, de-
frauded him of his father's blessing. As the
consequence of this, "Esau hated Jacob,"
and resolved to take his life. In his extrem-
ity^, Jacob left his father's house to take
refuge from the enmity of his brother among
his relatives in Padan-aram. On his way
thither he tarried for a night at Haran. A
lonely exile, as he laid his head uj^on his
stone pillow in the open air, we may well

SECOND SCRIPTURAL RULE. 121

suppose he began to feel that the way of the
transgressor is hard. The prospect before
him was anything but encouraging. It is
not improbable that he was humbled by his
misfortunes, and closed his eyes in slumber
a penitent. It was a favorable time, and the
God against whom he had sinned visited him
in mercy, and granted him a sensible mani-
festation of his ever-watchful, bountiful prov-
idence. In a dream, he beheld the vision
of a ladder extending from earth to heaven,
upon which the angels of God were ascend-
ing and descending. This doubtless sym-
bolized the special care of his heavenly
Father in constantly protecting, guiding,
and providing for him. But he also received
directly from the Lord, who stood above the
ladder, a glorious reassurance that the prom-
ise made to Abraham should be verified
to him — that the divine presence should
graciously accompany him in all his goings —
that he should be brought back to the prom-
ised land — that it should be the inheritance
of his posterity, who should be as tlie dust
of the earth in numbers — that they should,
spread abroad on every hand, and that
through them all the nations of the earth
should be blessed. So deeply did this divine
manifestation impress the mind of Jacob,

122 THE GREAT QUESTTION.

that when he awoke he exclaimed, " Surely
the Lord is in this place ; and I knew it not."
"He was afraid, and said. How dreadful is
this place ! this is none other but the house
of God, and this is the gate of heaven.'-
Rising early in the morning, he set up the
stone upon which he had rested as a pillar,
and, anointing it with oil, consecrated it as
a Bethel — a house of God.

Such, in brief, were the circumstances.
How natural in view of them that Jacob
should immediately take the step that he
did — make a solemn vow before God of rever-
ential and aifectionate obedience. "And
Jacob vowed a vow, saying. If God will be
with me, and will keep me in this way that
I go, and will give me bread to eat, and rai-
ment to put on, so that I come again to my
father's house in peace ; then shall the Lord
be my God : and this stone, which I have
set for a pillar, shall be God's house: and

OF ALL THAT THOU SHALT GIVE ME, I WILL
SURELY GIVE THE TENTH UNTO THEE." Ob-
serve, the vow of Jacob as first expressed in
general terms, is that the Lord should be his
God ; that is, that he would faithfully con-
form his life to the laws of God. Then, with
a special reference to the promise of distin-
guished prosperity, he repeats the vow by

SECOND SCKIPTURAL RULE. 123

consecrating the place to the worship of
God, and promising to give the required
tenth of his possessions to the Lord. In
other words, he vowed faithfully to attend
to the two great, inseparable duties, relig-
ious worship and religious offerings. This
was acknowledging the Lord to be his God.

We shall not detain the reader by extend-
ed remark upon these examples. It becomes
us not to overlook the authority with which
the divine approval clothes them. But we
would call attention not chiefly to these ex-
amples themselves, but to the divine law of
which they afford us indices. If Jacob was
sometimes unfaithful to his vow, the law to
wliich it relates is none the less authoritative.
Both his example and that of Abraham, as
recorded for our instruction, teach us not
merely to do as they did in precisely simi-
lar circumstances, but to obey the law which
ihey reveal to us under all circumstances.

At first it might seem mysterious that
if such a law then existed the allusions to
it should not be more numerous; but upon
a moment's reflection the mystery will dis-
appear. The liistory of patriarchal times is
very brief. Up to the time of Jacob's vow,
a period of two thousand two hundred and
twenty-five very eventful years, the narrative

124: THE GEEAT QUESTION.

occupies only the first twenty-eight chapters
of the book of Genesis. Be it also remem-
bered that the historian himself received
from God a direct revelation of his law, and
proclaimed it to the people. Hence it was
unnecessary that he should dwell upon the
law in the history of the patriarchs. They
had gone to their account, and those for
whom Moses wrote — Christians as well as
Jews — have the law as given by him. It is
not very remarkable, then, that the early
historical allusions to the law are few and
incidental. We should not expect to find it
anywhere treated of as the principal subj ect.

Yet the occasional references to the law in
patriarchal history all exactly agree with
the written law, and go far toward proving
that the latter was substantially a republica-
tion. Indeed, we may be assured of this on
the authority of divine immutability. Moses
does not inform us, in so many words, that
the patriarchs of whom he makes mention
were required to worship God and him alone,
to remember the Sabbath day to keep it
holy, and of all their increase in earthly goods
to bring the tenth to the Lord ; but he all
along takes for granted, as it becomes us to
do, that the laws of God are unchangeable.

But let it be specially borne in mind that

SECOND SCRIPTURAL RULE. 125

the allusions to the law respecting religious
offerings are much more frequent than to
any other law. Indeed, the examples we
have just considered present to us a complete
view of the identical statute upon this sub-
ject, which was subsequently proclaimed up-
on Mount Sinai. Of all the spoils Abraham
gave a tenth, and Jacob promised to give
a tenth of all that the Lord should give
him.

Now, first look at these examples separately ;
next, mark their agreement with each other ;
then their agreement with the law inculcated
by Moses ; then their agreement with the cus-
tom ofdevotinga tenth to religion, found in sev-
eral widely-separated nations and theabehold
the harmony of this concurrent testimony with
the established fact that, from the first, some
portion of man's income was required in re-
ligious offerings, and surely no reasonable
doubt can remain that, long anterior to the
dawn of the Mosaic dispensation, it was
made the duty of man, of all the increase of
his possessions, to bring at least a tenth to
the Lord. Thus we are led to the very im-
portant conclusion, that since this law is not
a peculiarity of the Jewish ecclesiastical sys-
tem, it could not have passed away when
that system was superseded by Christianity ;

126 THE GREAT QUESTION.

but that it is now as sacred a religious ob-
ligation as is the observance of the Sabbath.
So far we have reasoned from the priori-
ty of this law to the first publication of it by
Moses. We repeat the admission, that the
evidences upon which our premise rests here
are not of such a nature that they cannot be
questioned. If they were, our conclusion
would be irresistible. But we claim that
these evidences establish so strong a proba-
bility as to make the law obligatory upon us.
Yiewed in connection with the further evi-
dence furnished in the language of the writ-
ten law, they are, to say the least, as full
and decisive as are the evidences that the
primitive inhabitants were required to devote
each recurring seventh day to religion. Had
it been wise, the divine Lawgiver could, by
a single sentence, either in patriarchal his-
tory or in the ISTew Testament, have placed
both these institutions beyond the possibility
of doubt to all believers in divine revelation.
But in his wisdom he has seen fit to test our
candor, and the sincerity and strength of our
devotion, by resting them upon such evi-
dences as require investigation and after the
fullest investigation may be easily resisted,
if we consult our own convenience, or take
refuge in the fortress of a selfish love of gain.

SECOND SCRIPTURAL RULE. 127

How solemn the responsibility which Heaven
has thus devolved upon us. Yet how rea-
sonable. We are not required to exclude
every doubt from the mind. The religious
obligation of the Sabbath is so generally ad-
mitted among us, that the temptation to call in
question its evidences is comparatively slight.
Indeed, we have proved the Sabbath to be a
divine institution by experience. We know
it to be of God because it is a great blessing.
But in the absence of a personal experience
of the practicability and blessedness of the
divine claim to a tenth of our income, and
in opposition to the prevailing impression (it
cannot be called an opinion) in the Church,
we shall not find it easy to avoid doubt.
But if, between a religious obligation and
what would otherwise be an innocent self-
indulgence, there intervenes a doubt, in
which scale ought we to place the doubt?
Should we give the preference to religion,
or to self? What is the just weight of our
own convenience or gratification, or of any
temporal consideration against the infinite
claims of Jehovah ? To ask these questions
distinctly is to answer them. No person
who deserves the name of a Christian can
hesitate for a moment. " Doubting concern-
ing religion implies such a degree of evidence

128 TPIE GKEAT QUESTION.

for it as, joined with the consideration of its
importance, unquestionably lays men under
obligations to have a dutiful regard to it in
their behavior."^

We shall now introduce to the reader
another argument of an entirely different
nature from the one just considered. We
have viewed our subject from the stand-
point of patriarchal law. Let us now take
our position upon the law as given by Moses.
Here, at all events, we stand upon firm
ground — our premise is sure. We have the
law in the very words of Jehovah, Lev.
xxvii, 30, 32 : " All the tithe of the land,
whether of the seed of the land, or of the
fruit of the tree, is the Lord's : it is holy unto
the Lord." " And concerning the tithe of
the herd, or of the flock, even of whatsoever
passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be
holy unto the Lord."

The only question which can arise here,
is whether we are warranted in the conclu-
sion that this law is obligatory under the
Christian dispensation. We unhesitatingly
assume the affirmative. But, in pursuing
our inquiry, let us never forget that the law
stands recorded in unequivocal language
anxong the divine statutes, and that we are
^ Butler's Analogy,

SECOND SCRIPTURAL RULE. 129

under as sacred an obligation to obey it as
we are to discharge any other Christian
duty, unless it can be clearly shown that its
obligation ceased at the commencement of
the Christian dispensation. The presump-
tion is in favor of the ceaseless claims of the
law ; hence the burden of proof j ustly falls
upon those who dispute its claims upon the
Christian. The proper form of the question
is not, Is this law now in force ? but. Has it
passed away by its purpose being fully ac-
complished ? Let us ever remember, too,
that while nothing short of the most absolute
proof can justify us in the conclusion that
we are released from the claims of any
divine law, we have no right to demand
such proof that any law is perpetual in its
claitns. We take our position, however, in
the confidence that when the evidences
upon which it rests have been carefully
and candidly examined, it will be found
impregnable.

We readily admit that there is a part of
the Mosaic law which is not binding upon
the Christian. We shall not, however, find
it at all difiicult to determine what this part
is. Excepting perhaps a few statutes in the
civil code which were merely prudential,
and were unquestionably limited in their
9

130 THE GREAT QUESTION.

application, the law as given by Moses is,
in general terms, divided into the moral law
and the ceremonial law.* The moral law
requires religion itself; the ceremonial
simply prescribed the form of religion in
an introductory dispensation. Hence all
the precepts of the former are perpetual,
while those of the latter passed away with
the preparatory dispensation of which they
were peculiarities.

'No part of the law has been formally
repealed. "Think not," says the great
Teacher, " that I am come to destroy the
law, or the prophets : I am not come to
destroy, but to fulfill. For verily, I say unto
you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or
one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law,
till all be fulfilled." This language is
specially addressed to those who think the
law as given by Moses destroyed now that
grace and truth have come by Jesus Christ.
"Think not this," is his command. Our
Lord refers here not merely to the precepts
of the decalogue ; but he speaks in universal
terms of whatever is sanctioned or prohibited
either in the pentateuch, or in the propheti-
cal Scriptures. He declares with solemn

** Let not the statutes of the Jewish civil code be con-
founded with the penalties affixed to them.

SECOND SCRIPTURAL RULE. 131

emphasis that not one of the least of the
commandments found anywhere in these
sacred writings shall ever be destroyed.
" He came not to destroy, but to fulfill."

The term rendered " fulfill " {plerosai) means
either to make full, complete, or perfect ; or
to accomplish, according to the object to
which it is applied. Both these senses are
sanctioned by extensive usage in the ISTew
Testament and the Septuagint, as well as in
the classics. In the latter sense Christ ful-
filled the ceremonial law relating to the form
of Jewish worship, all of which pointed to
him, and was a shadow of the good things
of his coming kingdom. This was not de-
stroyed, but it came to a full end in Christ,
because in him its pm-pose was fully accom-
plished. But he came to fulfill all the pre-
cepts of the moral law^ in the sense of per-
fecting them, and showing the depth and
fullness of their import. He taught that
they require the obedience of the heart as
well as of the outward man.

The question before us now becomes a
very plain one. Does the divine claim to a
tenth belong to the ceremonial law w^hich
came to an end in Christ ? or is it, like that
enjoining the Sabbath, a moral statute — a
part of that law which he came to make

132 THE GREAT QUESTION.

complete by teaching the fullness of its
claims ? The answer is obvious.

First, that this statute belongs to the
moral, and not the ceremonial law, is evi-
dent from its nature. It comes in direct
conflict with our natural eagerness for
dominion and possession, and requires what
to us seems a sacrifice. It demands a prac-
tical acknowledgment of God as the giver
of all, and our rightful sovereign. The
manner of expending the tithe was cere-
monial; but acknowledging the tithe as
holy unto the Lord^ is strictly a religious
act — an act of the soul — entirely distinct
from the ceremonial law. So the law re-
quiring each successive seventh day as a
Sabbath is moral, and hence perpetual ;
while the laws which enjoined upon the
Jew the particular form of w^orship upon
the Sabbath were ceremonial, and hence
temporary.

Again : we have the decisive fact that
this law was given to Moses as a perfectly
distinct statute, and nineteen years prior to
the date of the law which gave the tithe to
the Levites. This alone puts the question
beyond controversy.

Indeed, it appears that the tithe was va-
riouslyemployed in the preceding ages of the

SECOND SCRIPTURAL RULE. 133

world. Doubtless the appropriation of it was
alwaj's prescribed by special statutes suited to
the time and circumstances. The antedilu-
vian patriarchs, including Noah, seem to have
been priests to tlieir own families, and may
have expended the tithe wholly in offerings
made by themselves upon the sacrificial
altar. Abraham we know, in one instance,
gave all the tithe to Melchizedek, who was
the priest of the most high God, and the
fullest type of Christ. In the incidental al-
lusion to this law in the history of Jacob we
find simply his religious vow to give the
tithe to the Lord, with no intimation re-
specting the particular object. Here, in the
words in which this law was received by
Moses, as just noticed, there is no reference
to the application of the tithe. Subsequently
the tithe of the land was made a part of the
portion of the Levites, and they in turn were
required to give a tithe of their tithe to the
priests. The purpose of the Levitical system
being now fulfilled in Christ, of course
another change occurs in the direction of
the tithe. It is, however, still the Lord's, to
be applied in sustaining the institutions of
religion, and in such charities as are clearly
auxiliary to its promotion.

We may now regard the question as

134 THE GEEAT QUESTION.

settled that this statute belongs not to the
ceremonial, but to the moral law. If we
had no other evidence than this in its sup-
port, we appeal to the reader whether this
alone would not sustain it firmly.

But we find further substantial evidence
that the law under consideration is perpetual
in the terms in which it was given to Moses :
" All the tithe of the land is the Lord's : it
is holy unto the Lord." " And concerning
the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, even of
whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth
shall be holy unto the Lord." Observe par-
ticularly, and bear constantly in mind, that
this is the very form in which Moses received
this statute from Jehovah. But it is obvious,
upon the first and most casual reading, that
this cannot be the proclamation of a new
law limited in its application to a single
nation, and to them only for a few genera-
tions. On the contrary, it is plainly a re-
statement of a universal and perpetual law,
with an implied command to the children
of Israel to obey it.

It has been justly urged that in the thirti-
eth verse, in which the tithe of the land is
required, the present tense excludes the
notion that God at this time set up a new
claim. But it has a broader significancy.

SECOND SCRIPTTJEAL RULE. 135

It shows the ceaseless obligation of this law.
If the future tense were employed, as in the
case of the tithe of the herd, or of the flock,
that would not imply that the law was then
first made known, much less that it was
limited to a few centuries ; for usage sanc-
tions the future tense in the declaration of
eternal laws as in most of the precepts of
the decalogue. Indeed, the direct command
must relate to the future only, as we have
only the future in which to obey. But the
present tense, "All the tithe of the land is
the Lord's," admits of but one interpreta-
tion. It clearly expresses an unchangeable
divine reservation of a tenth. "This God
claims as his own ; it is spoken of here as
being a point concerning which there was
neither doubt nor difficulty."* Precisely
similar language is employed in relation to
the Sabbath. " Tlie seventh day is the Sab-
bath of the Lord thy God." The first of
every seven days from man's creation, and
the first tenth of all his increase, is the
Lord's, — at least in all time. With this, too,
agrees the statute appropriating the tithe to
the use of the Levites. God did not at first
formally command the people to pay the
Levites a tenth of their income. Having

» Dr. A. Clarke.

136 THE GREAT QUESTION.

already claimed a tenth as his, he now sim-
ply informed them that he had himself given
the tithe to the Levites, thereby pointing out
to them how he expected them to employ
his tithe. "Behold, I have given the chil-
dren of Levi all the tenth in Israel for an in-
heritance, for the service which they serve,
even the service of the tabernacle of the
congregation." Num. xviii, 21.

Though, as observed, we find the future
tense in the thirty-second verse, which re-
lates to the tithe of the flocks and herds, yet
this verse too affords us conclusive evidence
that the tithe was already understood. This
is intimated in the prefatory clause, "And
concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the
flock" — a form of expression which implies
that the subject was a familiar one. This,
it will not be questioned, is the more natu-
ral inference. But our position finds decisive
evidence in this verse in its allusion to an
established custom by which the Lord's tithe
was separated from the rest. " Of whatso-
ever passeth under the rod the tenth shall be
holy unto the Lord." This custom is ex-
plained by the rabbins as follows : " When
a man was to give the tithe of his sheep or
calves to God, he was to shut up the whole
flock in one fold, in which there was one

SECOND SCRIPTURAL RULE. 137

narrow door capable of letting out one at a
time. The owner, about to give the tenth
to the Lord, stood by the door with a rod in
his hand, the end of which was dipped with
vermilion, or red ocher. The mothers of those
lambs or calves stood without: the door
being opened, the young ones ran out to
join themselves with their dams; and as
they passed out the own^r stood with his
rod over them, and counted one, two, three,
four, five, &c., and when the tenth came, he
touched it with his colored rod, by which it
was distinguished to be the tithe call^ sheep,
&c., and whether poor or lean, perfect or
blemished, that was received as the legiti-
mate tithe." The reader need not be in-
formed that the law requiring the tithe must,
to say the least, be as ancient as the custom
which relates to it.

It is worthy of particular attention, that
the evidences afforded in these two verses
are entirely distinct in their nature. In the
former, the tithe is spoken of as an immu-
table claim of God upon man's possessions.
In the latter, it is introduced as a thing well-
known, and in connection with the command
to obey it, the divine sanction is put upon
an existing custom by which the Lord's tithe
was separated from the rest. I^Tow we may

138 THE GREAT QUESTION.

be assured that this was not accidental.
The Sovereign Ruler stated this law in the
most appropriate terms, and of design fur-
nished us with this accumulated and varied
evidence that it is of perpetual obligation.

We are now prepared to submit the ques-
tion to the reader, whether our position, that
this law, as given by Moses, is still in force,
is not fairly and fully sustained. We have
seen that the nature of this law, as well as
its perfect distinctness from the application
of the tithe, and especially its publication
some twenty years before the tithe was given
to the Levites, proves decisively that it be-
longs to the moral law, no part of which has
passed away. And we have also seen that
this law, as proclaimed upon Mount Sinai,
is stated in terms which imply, beyond a
doubt, both its priority and perpetuity ; yea,
which unequivocally express its ceaseless
obligation.

We see further that our two positions —
the first, that this law existed in patriarchal
times, and the second, that it is a part
of the moral law given by Moses — join
the one upon the other, thereby mutually
strengthening each other, and constituting
one solid, immovable basis in support of its
religious obligation upon the Christian.

SECOND SCRIPTURAL RULE. 139

This law has also the support of several
strong presumptive evidences. But we have
room for only a brief allusion to these.

The supposition is obviously unreasonable
and the suggestion of selfishness, that God
expects less of the Christian than he did of
the Jew. Just the reverse would be a more
natural expectation. No reason can be given
for so many and so large assessments as were
made upon the possessions of the Jew, ex-
cept that it was demanded by his own in-
terests. A much less expensive form of
worship would doubtless have answered
every other purpose than that of protecting
him against selfishness. Now the demands
of fallen human nature are the same under
the Christian as under the Mosaic dispensa-
tion ; and, in addition to this, the glorious
enterprise of the world's salvation has been
made dependent upon the Christian. All
the Christian can possibly give is needed in
the work assigned to him of evangelizing
the world. Circumstances then seem to re-
quire of the Christian much more than they
did of the Jew. Shall we not rather say,
that in the great commission to the Church,
God calls on her for more ?

Again : no reason can be discovered for
such a law three thousand years ago which

140 THE GREAT QUESTION.

exists not now. The rich and the poor then
needed some law prescribing the minimum
proportion, and they need it equally now,
as is evident from the reluctance with which
the majority of professed Christians give
even a twentieth of their income. Many,
indeed, who give less than a twentieth to-
ward the support of preaching in their own
vicinity, and for home charities, would
scarcely give anything for the Missionary,
Tract, Sunday School, and Bible causes but
for the most persevering efforts of their pas-
tor, and the committee and collectors ap-
pointed as his assistants. Some, doubtless,
there will always be, who will contrive to
rob God of a part of his tithe ; but when
the convictioij shall once become prevalent,
as it certainly will if it is truth, that a tenth
of all our possessions, as well as a seventh
of all our time, is holy unto the Lord, every
true Christian will faithfully bring the in-
crease to his treasury. This alone would
multiply the religious offerings of the Church
as a whole threefold, and in many places
much more than this. But this is not all.
Having learned what liberality is, the
Church would begin cheerfully to bring her
free-will offerings to the Lord, and the armies
of the Eedeemer would be enabled, ere long,

SECOND SCEIPTirKAL RULE. 141

to go forth to glorious conquest into all lands,
and subject the world to his dominion. But
is there a reasonable prospect of ever ac-
complishing this while the Church has no
definite apprehension of the divine claims
upon her possessions ? We need not la-
bor to convince the reader that a general
acknowledgment of this law would im-
mensely increase the beneficent contribu-
tions of the Church, as well as give them a
more strictly religious character. The fol-
lower of Christ would then no longer wait
for some thrilling missionary appeal to rouse
him to action. In the income of every
week, whether much or little, he would hear
the voice of God, and conscience, once
awake, would demand with autliority the
full measure of Christian liberality.

We have all along marked the corre-
spondence between the evidences for this in-
stitution and for the Sabbath. Both are
positive institutions. Both were given by
Moses as distinct statutes years before the
giving of the ceremonial law prescribing the
method of observing the one and of appro-
priating the other. Both make a real claim
upon us — the one to a tenth of our property,
the other to a seventh of our time — entirely
distinct from all ceremonies, which proves

14:2 THE GREAT QUESTION.

that tliey belong to the moral law, and have
not passed away. Both, as given by Moses,
are stated in terms which express a perpet-
ual obligation, and imply both their priority
and perpetuity. There are glimpses of both
in patriarchal history, and traces of both
in widely-separated heathen nations — facts
which can only be accounted for on the hy-
pothesis that they were enjoined upon man
at a very early period.' ^Neither is formally
commanded in the New Testament. We
ought rather to say that neither is revoked
in the 'New Testament. On the contrary,
the New Testament virtually assumes the
existence and obligation of both.

It will here naturally occur to the reader
that the tithe is not enjoined in the deca-
logue, while the Sabbath is. We admit
freely that this fact renders the general ob-
ligation of the Sabbath a little the more
obvious ; in other words, that it is not so
easy to overlook or evade the question of its
universality as in case of the tithe. But be-
cause the precepts of the decalogue cannot
escape attention, and their obligation hardly
admits of question, it by no means follows
that every other Old Testament precept is
void. The Christian has no more reason for
such an inference than the Jew had. All

SECOND SCRIPTURAL RULE. 143

that part of the law which is in any respect
of a moral nature, wherever recorded, and
whether expressed in distinct statutes or in-
volved with the ceremonial law, remains in
full force. But if we do not read the whole
law attentively, and with an honest and
earnest desire to learn its claims upon us,
we shall not be likely to discriminate be-
tween the moral and the ceremonial part.
We shall be in great danger of neglecting
the law itself, as well as the temporarily pre-
scribed form of observing it — of casting
aside the genuine fruit, as well as the husk
which was designed to protect it during the
process of maturing. When we find a pre-
cept without the decalogue, it is always
proper to ask the question whether it is
merely ceremonial. ]^ow, as we have seen,
the evidence is demonstrative that the stat-
ute under consideration is distinct from the
ceremonial law. Why it was not recorded
with the precepts of the decalogue we are
not bound to answer. There may have
been reasons in the divine mind which are
unknown to us ; yet, if we mistake not,
there may be found a clear and satisfactory
reason in the difference between these two
institutions.

Since the institution of the tithe conflicts

144: THE GREAT QUESTION.

more directly with our selfishness than that
of the Sabbath, and affords an occasion for
a fuller test of candor, it accords with the
known principles of the divine government
that the occasion should be improved bv sub-
mitting more to our investigation. Besides,
in this case the only question with which
selfishness is much concerned, is whether
the law is obligatory upon us. After mak-
ing the sacrifice — laying aside the Lord's
tithe — one can hardly desire to apply it other-
wise than as he directs. If we could not
contrive to doubt its obligation, then not
only would there be little or no opportunity
for the exercise of candor on our part, but
obedience would be almost a necessity. Tlie
case with the Sabbath is quite the reverse.
All rejoice in it as a day of rest from ordi-
nary labor. Even Atheism struck a fatal
blow against her own power when she abol-
ished it in France. Human nature speedily
revolted against the tyrant, and demanded
its restoration. Selfishness is almost exclu-
sively concerned here with the question
how strictly the Sabbath should be observed,
and the conspicuous place in which it is
enjoined brings this chief question distinctly
and vividly to view.

Thus we perceive, that while giving the

SECOND SCRIPTURAL RULE. 145

Sabbath a place in the decalogue is pro-
motive of its purpose, — that is, secures to
man, as a probationer, its highest advan-
tages,— to have made the institution of the
tithe so conspicuous would have been coun-
teractive of its purpose. In other words, it
would have made obedience so nearly com-
pulsory, that instead of strengthening man
to act the part of a moral agent — to do his
probationary work — it would have tended
rather '' to crush him into a hypocrite, or to
terrify him into a maniac." Man cannot
face the command of the infinite Jehovah
with a direct refusal to obey.

But though the obligation of the tithe is
less obvious than that of the Sabbath, we
have no right to admit that it is any less
conclusive after investigation. There is no
real inferiority in its evidences. We feel
justified in the conclusion that when both
these institutions have been placed with
equal distinctness before the mind, the same
degree of candor and devotion which will
secure the proper observance of the one,
will also insure a prompt and practical ac-
knowledgment of the other.

If we were in controversy with the caviler,

we should probably meet the objection that

some have no land, flocks, and herds. There
10

146 THE GREAT QUESTION.

is a chance here for the unwilling to evade
conviction. But we need not waste a para-
graph to convince the Christian that we
escape none of the claims of Heaven by re-
ceiving our income through some of the
channels of modern enterprise.

Tlie question will, however, honestly arise
whether those who are in extreme poverty,
or in debt, are not exempted from the claims
of the tithe. We yield to the reader the
same right which we claim for ourself, of
deciding this question in the exercise of his
own judgment. Some, whose opinion is en-
titled to much more weight than that of the
writer, have answered in the affirmative.
Yet we feel compelled to dissent from this
opinion. If we rightly apprehend its teach-
ings, the Bible represents a tenth of our in-
come as well as a seventh of our time as
unchangeably the Lord's. If the nine-tenths
are insufficient to meet our stern necessities,
it may be right for us to borrow if we have
a reasonable prospect of paying. If we can-
not do this, we may lawfully and honorably
appeal to the benevolence of those who are
more largely supplied with earthly good than
we are. If our heavenly Father should permit
us to suffer want after resorting to all lawful
means to obtain a supply, he will not fail,

SECOND SCRIPTURAL RULE. 147

if we commit om- cause to him, to overrule
the consequent suffering for our eternal
good. But on no account, as we view the
subject, can we be justified in employing
any Dart of the Lord's tithe for any other
than charitable and religious purposes. No ;
we must not apply it even to the payment
of a debt. We have no right to rob God to
pay Caesar. All the tithe is holy unto the
Lord.

The subject now is the duty of giving the
tithe, and not its tendency to thrift. We
ought, however, in this connection, to call to
mind the sure word of divine promise, which
fully justifies the conclusion that he who
freely renders unto God that which is his,
will, in general, be much more likely to meet
the claims of his creditors, and to secure a
comfortable supply for himself and family.
Robbing God, as the Bible teaches, and
experience demonstrates, is in all respects
unprofitable as well as wrong.

But before leaving this subject we would
again remind the reader that the tithe is not
the measure of Christian liberality. Upon
the latter subject we have spoken at length
in a previous chapter. Yet an additional
remark or two seems called for in this place.
The tithe is only that part of all our gains

148 THE GREAT QrESTION.

whicli God claims as his in the same sense
in which he claims the first of every seven
days. It is our duty not only to keep the
Sabbath holy, but also to devote a portion of
each day to divine worship. But the respon-
sibility of determining what this portion shall
be, whether one or three hours of each of the
six days, devolves upon us. So it is only a
tenth of the property over, which God makes
us his stewards which he has specially reserv-
ed as his own. But he has very explicitly
and emphatically made it our duty, in gen-
eral, to give much more. As in the analo-
gous case, however, he holds us responsible
to judge how much more, in view of the gen-
eral teachings of his word, and the indica-
tions of his providence.

He who worships only on Sunday is only
a Sunday Christian. So he who gives only
the tithe w^hen he can give more is only a
tithe Christian. In other words, he is not a
Bible Christian. Even of the Jew two or
three times this proportion were required.
He was required to give what are sometimes
called the second and third tithes, besides
various smaller benefactions, and in addition
to them all to bring liberal free-will offerings
to the Lord. These requirements, however,
it should be observed, were placed on entirely

SECOND SCRIPTURAL KTJLE. 149

different ground from that of the tithe. ]N"one
of them are enjoined in statutes distinct from
the ceremonial law. Thej are not like the
tithe, spoken of as an unchangeable divine
reservation. Perhaps, indeed, the three tithes
were not entirely distinct from each other.
They do not, then, make it our duty to lay
aside from our income a second and third
tithe, &c., in the very order prescribed for
the Jew. Yet we may learn from them this
plain lesson, that it is our duty to give at least
with equal liberality ; that is, if we are equally
able, to give as large a proportion a-s was
required of the Jew, which cannot be much
less than a third of all.

But we have seen that the Gospel, while
it repeals not the institution of the tithe any
more than that of the Sabbath, exalts the
standard of liberality above that of Judaism,
making it the duty and privilege of the Chris-
tian to give a larger proportion than the
aggregate of all the requirements of the Jew.
Thus the Gospel perfects the law. The Chris-
tian standard of liberality as earnestly advo-
cated and exemplified by our own Wesley,
is this : " Having first gained all you can,

AND SECONDLY SAVED ALL YOU CAN, THEN GIVB

But let not the general duty of giving all

150 THE GREAT QUESTION.

we can be resorted to as a covert from the
specific duty of giving a tenth. The evidences
we have been considering in this chapter
prove not that it is the duty of somebody
else to give a third, but that it is our own
duty promptly to bring to the Lord's treasury
his own tithe. We beseech the friends of
Christ, as they love his cause, yea, we warn
them, in view of the great day of judicial
scrutiny, not to shuffle this law under any
vague generalization. We claim no authority
for our words; but the word of God is su-
preme.

If the reader assents to the argument we
have introduced — if he admits that it estab-
lishes so much as a clear probability in favor
of this law — he is bound also to admit that it
is obligatory upon him, that of all the in-
crease accruing from his present possessions,
as well as of all the fruits of his industry — in
a word, that of all the gifts of Providence, it
is his duty to regard the first tenth as holy
unto the Lord, and to apply it with religious
care to the relief of his poor and the promo-
tion of his cause. Let this definite law come
home to the individual consciences both of
the rich and the poor, and more will be gain-
ed than ever can be by mere general appeals.
The writer is by no means disposed to record

SECOND SCRIPTURAL RULE. 151

hard things against those who have not hith-
erto recognized the obligation of the tithe.
The Church, as a whole, is, indeed, extremely
culpable. But it is impossible to judge how
far particular individuals are in fault ; and,
if it were otherwise, it would not be our part
to throw stones. For ages the Church was
almost wholly unconscious of the duty of
evangelizing the world. Yet, during those
ages, there were doubtless many sincere
Christians. Even now it is said that on the
continent of Europe loose views prevail re-
specting the obligation of the Sabbath. We
do not conclude, however, that among tliose
wlio are affected with this error there are none
whose hearts are consecrated to the Christian
cause. Indeed, many persons of undoubted
piety connected with the various branches
of the Church in our own country have a
very imperfect view of the claims of the
Sabbath. Still, the Sabbath is the Lord's,
as strictly as though all Christians had a
correct apprehension of it ; and so is the tithe.
All true Christians are disciples, and the dis-
ciple stands acquitted so long as he inquires
diligently and candidly, and promptly adopts
every new lesson in his practice.

152 THE GREAT QUESTION.

CHAPTEE IX.

THIRD SCRIPTURAL RULE WE ARE REQUIRED

TO RESPOND TO THE CLAIMS OF THIS DUTY ON
EACH SABBATH, GIVING IN PROPORTION AS
GOD PROSPERS US.

The foregoing chapters have guided us to the
conclusion, that the standard of Christian liber-
ality is, in all cases, found somewhere from
a tenth of all our income to all we can gain by
industry and save by economy. The tithe we
are to acknowledge as the Lord's, because
he has reserved it as his own. Between this
and all we have, we are to exercise our
own judgment in loyalty to the general
teachings of Scripture. At the call of Prov-
idence we are to be ever ready to devote all
our possessions to the cause of charity and
religion, and under no circumstances are we
to retain any part of the increase without a
high religious purpose ; that is, unless it is our
deliberate conviction that this is required by
the general good. We are to hoard up
nothing, but to use all as faithful steward?
of God.

It now remains only to be determined how

THIRD SCRIPTURAL RULE. 153

often, and at what periods, the question should
come up for distinct consideration, What
proportion ought I to give ? To this question
Inspiration furnishes us a definite answer :
" Upon tfie first day of the week let
every one of you lay by him in store as
God hath prospered him." 1 Cor. xvi, 2.

It will not be questioned by the Christian
that this command is obligatory upon all.
The only query will be whether it is to be
understood as enjoining upon us a form to
be generally observed, or only as requiring
system and deliberation in our beneficent
contributions. The latter seems generally to
be taken for granted. We would speak
with becoming modesty and deference to
the opinions of others ; yet we would not
shrink from a distinct expression of what
seems to us to be the truth. We cannot
imagine upon what principle this rule can
fairly admit of such wholesale generalization.
Let us be understood. It is plain, from the
nature of the rule, that it cannot be obliga-
tory upon all in the precise form in which it
is stated. It requires not impossibilities.
But' because the circumstances of some are
such that it would be impossible for them to
obey it to the letter, surely it does not follow
that they are justified in totally disregarding

154 THE GEE AT QUESTION.

its form ; much less does it follow that
those whose circumstances admit an ob-
servance of it in form, are at liberty to
substitute for it some entirely different rule
of their own invention. As we view the
subject, this rule is obligatory to the letter
upon all to whose circumstances it is adapt-
ed, and upon all others with such modifica-
tions as their circumstances render nec-
essary.

Our position here, though not in accord-
ance w^ith the general impression, will not.
we presume, in the mind of the Church
generally, conflict with any settled opinions,
nor encounter any violent prejudices. Hence
an elaborate defense of it is uncalled for.
The evidences in its support are within the
comprehension of all. We shall state them
briefly, and submit the question of their
validity to the j udgment of the Church.

We remark, first, that some rule of
this nature, as well as of that requiring the
tithe, seems needed by the Church. At
what stated periods this duty should engage
special attention is one of the questions
which human reason cannot answer, and one
which we may well desire should be decided
by infinite Wisdom; and more especially
when we remember that it involves our own

THIRD SORIPTUEAL RULE. 155

spiritual growth, and the prosperity of
Christ's kingdom.

Such a rule is also a natural expectation
in view of the importance of unity of action.
The drafts upon the treasury of the Lord are
as regular as the wants of those who are en-
gaged in the Christian service. With equal
regularity should the treasury of the Lord be
replenished. But so long as there are no
stated periods at which Christians generally
lay by in store for the Christian cause, there
must be great irregularity and uncertainty in
the supplies, and the cause will be sadly
embarrassed. Is^ow the rule before us sup-
plies us with a perfect antidote to this evil.
We might suppose that common-sense would
lead an earnest Church to adopt some rule of
the kind. Indeed, in every enterprising
Church the members are accustomed, either
weekly, or monthly, or quarterly, to pay their
proportion toward the support of preaching,
and at the same or other regularly recurring
periods to give to the cause of Christian
charity. Any such plan immensely increases
the efficiency of a Church. But how much
greater must be the advantage of the adop-
tion, by the Churches generally, of a rule
divinely wise and divinely authoritative.
Such is the rule before us.

156 THE GREAT QUESTION.

Again : we infer that this rule is binding
in its specific form from the extent to which
the apostle applied it. "As I have given
order to the Churches of Galatia, so do ye."
'Now the apostle was guided by inspiration,
both in originally enjoining this rule upon
the Chiirches of Galatia, and in repeating the
injunction to the Corinthian Church. These
Churches probably embraced several hund-
reds, and perhaps some thousands of Chris-
tians, and it will not be doubted that of them,
at least, obedience to the rule in form was
required so far as it was consistent with
their circumstances, ^or can it be doubted
that this particular form was chosen for wise
reasons.

Had the apostle, to meet some pressing
emergency, simply ordered a collection on
one Christian Sabbath, the lesson would
be very different. But he commanded these
Christians to lay by in store Sabbath after
Sabbath. One reason assigned by him is,
that there might be no gatherings when ho
came ; that is, that their gifts might not be
prompted by the casual impulses awakened
by his presence and his eloquence. This
particular form was unquestionably better
adapted to the spiritual wants of those early
Christians than any other, and why not to

THIRD SCRIPTTJKAL RULE. 157

the wants of Christians now ? It did not ex-
actly suit the convenience of all those
Christians any more than it does of all Chris-
tians now. An observance of it is probably
quite as generally convenient now as it was
then. Certainly we are warranted in the
conclusion, that, in proportion to its adapta-
tion, it is as obligatory upon us as it was
upon the primitive Christians.

Again, it should not be overlooked that it
is form which this rule requires. It assumes
the duty of religious charities, and simply
points out in unequivocal terms the proper
manner of providing the means. It pre-
scribes the frequency and the particular
days upon which the subject should receive
distinct attention, making it one of the du-
ties of each Christian Sabbath. I^ow, let it
be remembered that this rule was not given
in view of any prejudice of the times, nor
to meet any local or temporary want, but
that it relates to a great universal duty of
religion, and to the sublimest enterprise in
the universe, and the conclusion is plain
that it is as binding upon the modern as it
was upon the ancient Churches, that is, bind-
ing upon aWjust sofa?' as circumstances do
not clearly render it impracticable.

Again, we venture the suggestion that

158 THE GREAT QUESTION.

this rule lias a wider adaptation than any-
other rule relating to the frequency and the
times of giving could have. "We confi-
dently infer this, in respect to those Chris-
tians to whom it was immediately addressed,
from the fact of its inspiration, and we can
imagine no reason why it should not be as
well adapted to other Christians as to them.
Human laws are often experiments. This
is the dictate of Infinite Wisdom. The con-
clusion is unavoidable, that it perfectly
meets the want for which it was intended,
and is as generally applicable as, from the
nature of the case, any rule requiring unity
of action can be.

But we shall see, upon refiection, that this
rule commends itself to common-sense. It
is not so specific as to circumscribe its appli-
cation within narrow limits. It does not
require the Christian to give a specified
sum, nor to make any immediate appropria-
tion of his offerings, nor to place them in
any general treasury, but simply to lay by
him in store as the Lord prospers him from
week to week, leaving the questions of the
amount, and of the appropriation or de-
posit, to be determined by circumstances.

The frequency here prescribed corre-
sponds with the weekly division of time, and

THIRD SCRIPTURAL RULE. 159

the only division which revelation enjoins.
Besides, of all the days of the week, the
Sabbath is generally the most convenient for
this duty. Kegiilarly recurring between the
secular weeks, it affords the most favorable
opportunity for the inquiry. How has God
prospered me during the week ? The Sab-
bath is also a convenient time, because,
upon that day, we are free from ordinary
care and toil. It affords us ample time to
give the subject deliberate attention.

It is not to be denied, however, that at
first view there seem to be many exceptions
to the applicability of this rule. A small
minority receive their income so often as
once a week. Comparatively few always
have money at hand when the Sabbath ar-
rives. It is often impracticable exactly to
estimate either the expenses or the gains of
the week. Some are engaged in enterprises
the results of which must remain unknown
for months or years. In view of these facts,
it must be admitted that this rule is not al-
ways entirely convenient. Bat must not the
same admission be made also in respect to
every duty of religion? Christianity does
not propose our present convenience as the
principal thing. Self-denial — subj ecting our
own convenience to the will of God and the

160 THE GEEAT QUESTION.

general good — is one of the prominent and
essential requirements of our probation.

Though salvation is by grace through
faith, yet if we would retain the priceless
boon we must consent to much inconvenience
in time. Some think it inconvenient to
give, at any time, into the treasury of the
•Lord. It is sometimes quite inconvenient
to devote the first day of the week to religious
purposes. Many persons find it so inconve-
nient to be Christians that they delay the
whole matter to the close of life. The strait
gate, which is the only entrance to the king-
dom of God, does not suit any one's con-
venience. The indolent man even frets at
the inconvenience of providing for the daily
recurring wants of his own family.

There arise, then, from the circumstances
in such cases as are above alluded to, no
objections to giving weekly attention to this
subject which do not exalt convenience
above duty, weigh equally against a dis-
charge of other acknowledged obligations,
and involve gross infidelity to the Christian
cause.

Let it be ever kept in mind that the ques-
tion is not whether the duty to which this
rule relates may not be wholly neglected
till we can definitely estimate our gains and

THIRD SCKIPTUEAL RULE. 161

our expenses, and attend to it witliout in-
convenience, but whether, admitting out
constant ohligation as copartners in the
work of the Lord^ this rule is not a practi-
cable one in the discharge of that obligation,
and attended with as little inconvenience as
any rule can be which does not in some
respect compromise the great duty itself.

The circumstances of some may not
always admit of conformity to the exact
letter of this rule ; but, if they are disposed
to do so, they can conform to it with only
slight, unessential modifications. On each
Sabbath they can give prayerful attention
to the subject. If they cannot exactly esti-
mate the expenses of the week, they can
generally, with a little attention, know their
actual expenditures, which is equally to the
purpose. K they have not all the facts
before them relating to their prosperity, they
can bring such an offering to the Lord as
seems liberal in view of those facts which
are known. They can calculate the proba-
bilities just as they do in regulating the
weekly outlays for their families, and give
in proportion, never fixing the proportion
below the prescribed minimum — a tenth of
that which is appropriated for all purposes.
If they are obliged to live on credit, still
11

162 THE GEE AT QUESTION.

they can credit a proportionate sum to the
account of charity and religion, paying
the amount when their income is received.
If the uncertainties of their business require
special economy, this very system of regu-
larly crediting a portion to the Lord will
contribute to the desired object. Unques-
tionably, in a majority of cases, the aggre-
gate debt for current expenses and to the
cause of religious charity would not exceed
that which, in the absence of such a system,
would be incurred for the former object
alone.

But if there be occasionally a Christian
who would economize as closely without
any such system as with it, still it is too
plain to admit of question, that, so long as
the prospects of his business justify him in
obtaining on credit a constant supply of
temporal things for himself and family, he
should be equally constant and liberal in his
plans for providing for the higher wants of
the s^^iritual nature, and for the promotion
of the great enterprises of Christian benevo
lence. Of course, giving attention to the
subject on each Sabbath would not super-
sede the propriety and duty of bringing an
unusually large offering to the Lord when it
should be found that success had crowned

THIRD SCRIPTUKAL RULE, 163

his enterprises, any more than comfortably
feeding and clothing his children during the
period of uncertainty would lead him to
forget the generous bestowments expected
by them on the joyful day which reveals
his prosperity.

We find another valid argument in sup-
port of our position in the substantial agree-
ment of this rule with the requirements of
the former dispensations. It is highly prob-
able that, from the first age of the world,
one of the religious duties required of man.
on each Sabbath was that of offering a por-
tion of his possessions to the Lord, It is
certain that sacrifices were required on the
Sabbath under the Mosaic dispensation, and
there is no reason to doubt that the same
was true during the patriarchal ages. Com-
mentators concur in the opinion that Cain
and Abel brought their offerings to the Lord
on the Sabbath. This is inferred from the
phrase rendered " in process of time," which
literally signifies " at the end of the days,"
or " at the cutting off of days ; " that is, as Dr.
Wayland remarks, " at the close, as we should
say, of a section of days ; a very natural ex-
pression for the end of a week."

Indeed, until the great offering of the
Lamb of God for the sins of the world, sac-

164 THE GREAT QUESTION.

rifices were connected with the prescribed
form of worship, and the Sabbath was
always the day specially devoted to this
purpose.

It is true that the ancient sacrifices were
typical ; but they were none the less offer
ings of property. The acknowledgment of
the pious patriarch or Jew of his depend-
ence for salvation from sin upon a vicarious
atonement, and his devotement of a portion
of his property to the Lord, though one in
the outward form, were two distinct religious
acts. They are such in their nature. Under
the Christian dispensation these acts have
been separated. Yet, since both belong to
religion, it is but natural that both should
still be required on the day specially devoted
to religious purposes.

In primitive times each patriarch acted as
priest to his own family, and brought his
offerings directly to the Lord. He paid his
tithe or tithes in the very act of worship.
When this custom was modified under the
law, as published by Moses, by the institu-
tion of public worship, and sacrifices were
offered for the people only by priests from
a particular family, then, as we are informed
by Josephus and Philo, the pious Jew regu-
larly brought his tithes for the poor and

THIRD SCKIPTUKAL KULE. 165

for the temple to the synagogue in which
he worshiped on every Sabbath.

Thus we find good reason to believe that,
from the days of Adam to the time this rule
was recorded by the inspired apostle, the
duty which it enjoins was individually ob-
served by the trul}^ pious on each recurring
Sabbath. What less can we infer from this
than a clear probability that this 'New Testa-
ment rule is a republication of one of the
immutable laws of God to man, only so far
modified in its form as to adapt it to the
Gospel dispensation?

Finally, we observe that offerings to the
Lord seem liighly appropriate as a Sabbath
duty. We have already dwelt at length
upon the eminently religious nature of this
duty. It is a grateful and practical acknowl-
edgment of God as the giver of all our
blessings ; it is suited to remind us of our
constant dependence upon a crucified Saviour,
whose religion our contributions aim to sup-
port ; and it is adapted to take us out of self
and to bring us into union with Christ, and
into lively sympathy with his mission of
mercy to our benighted and sufi'ering fellow-
men. In a word, it is an essential part of
" pure and undefiled religion before God
and the Father." How befitting, then, that

166 THE GREAT QTJESTiON.

special attention should be required to this
duty on the Sabbath. On no other day are
its claims likely to be so fully realized, and
on no other day is it so likely to be discharged
in the spirit of true religion.

Religion, indeed, is the very purpose for
which the Sabbath was instituted, and shall
this great duty of religion be omitted on
that day? Worship is not the whole of
religion. Dissociated from a practical ac-
knowledgment of God, it degenerates into
a stale, disgusting sentimentalism. Religion
requires action as well as emotion — deeds
as well as words. It becomes us in all
things to show our faith by our works.
Our words of thanksgiving should be ac-
companied by a generous thank-offering to
the treasury of the Lord. We must not
only pray for the poor, but aid in relieving
them. "We must show our zeal for the Re-
deemer's kingdom by contributing to its
support and extension.

Thus we see that these great duties of re-
ligion— worship and offerings to the Lord —
are mutually dependent. From this we
might justly infer that the one should receive
attention on the Sabbath as well as the
other. But we are not left here to infer-
ence. God has in his word indissolubly

THIRD SCRIPTUEAIi RULE. 167

joined them together. Let no man pre-
sume to put them asunder.

We have not urged these considerations
for the purpose of adding to the authority
of this Scriptural rule. Its authority rests
on its inspiration by the Holy Ghost. But
are we not fully warranted in concluding
from these collateral evidences that this
rule is binding in form ?

We have now set before the mind of the
reader what we understand to be the Bible
style of giving. We have not found an
answer to every question which the hesitat-
ing mind suggests ; but we have found the
word of God sufficiently full and explicit to
point out a plain path to those who earnestly
desire to know the claims of God on their
possessions, and to meet them.

168 THE GEEAT QUESTION.

CHAPTEK X.

THE EEQTJIEED BENEFICENCE OBLIGATORY UPON
THE MINISTRY.

The Bible law of giving, like the Sabbath,
was made for man^ and upon man makes
its requisitions. As every man is its ob-
ject, so every man is its subject. No one
is excused from the duty of giving, or de-
nied the privilege, because of profession, po-
sition, or other adventitious circumstances.
Our reasonings, then, are manifestly as ap-
plicable to the ministry as to the laity.

As the Church is waking up to a great re-
form on this subject, we have deemed it not
improper modestly, yet earnestly, to inquire
whether we, as ministers of the cross, occupy
the right position. It is true, if faithful to
our calling, we actually give our entire ser-
vices to the cause of the Redeemer ; and, in
doing so, we not unfrequently exchange the
income of lucrative stations for a scanty sup-
port. Of course, however, this does not re-
lease us from the claims of God on our pres-
ent income, such as it is. God does not
require of us a portion of that of which we

THE MINISTRY. 169

might rob him in some station to which he
has not called us, nor of that which is hon-
estly due to us from the Church, but a por-
tion of that of which we become the actual
possessors.

Many of us, doubtless, do give a liberal
portion according to the general standard ;
but we cannot doubt that a thorough investi-
gation will lead to a settled conviction, that
we may and ought to participate in this
great reform by taking higher ground in
both our teachings and our practice.

No detailed restatement of this law is de-
manded here. We need only allude to the
well-known fact in Jewish history, that the
Levites were required to give a tithe of their
tithe, even as the people gave a tithe of the
product of their industry. From this arises,
at least, a reasonable presumption that this
law is as obligatory upon the ministry as
upon the laity.

Kow the obvious inference from the obli-
gation of this law upon us is, that obedience
to it is praGticable. God requires not impossi-
bilities. The evidence which establishes the
duty of observing the law establishes also its
consistency. The minister must not, more
than other men, expect to find it congenial
to his human nature, or in harmony with his

170 THE GEEAT QUESTION.

convenience or inclination; for one of the
grand purposes of the law is our discipline
by self-denial. But the faithful Christian
pastor needs not exhortation to induce him
to give to the full extent of his convictions.
He wants only the bidding of his Lord, ever
rejoicing in the assurance that obedience is
the highest wisdom.

True, the apparent difficulties are great ;
but they dwindle before a candid and pray-
erful examination of the subj ect.

Deeply sensible are we that the salary of
ministers is generally inadequate to their
station. But this is equally true of many in
other walks in life ; and if our limited re-
sources render it impossible for us to conform
to this rule, the same reasoning will excuse
great numbers of our people. The income
of a large portion of the Church may be
safely estimated at less than that of the min-
istry. The apology of which we speak, then,
if adopted by the Church, would be ruin-
ously felt not only by our Bible, Missionary,
Tract, and Sunday-School societies, but in
the very support of the ministry itself The
minister must not even whisper the notion
that obedience is impossible. If the station
in life occupied by the pastor has increased
expenditures — and it doubtless has — they

THE MINISTET. lYl

are of such a nature that the people do not
appreciate them ; and, in despite of all re-
monstrances, the layman will wrest our logic
to his own destruction and ours also.

But a life of obedience to this law — and,
itdeed, to every law of God — is the very
means of removing the difficulties in the way
of obedience. Enlarged liberality on our
part cannot fail gradually, and in the end
greatly, to increase the liberality of the
Church in remunerating our services. All
the piety and good sense of the Church is a
pledge of this. In some cases the response
might not, at first, be general; but we hesi-
tate not to affirm that every branch of the
Church of Christ would soon feel, and prac-
tically acknowledge, the force of a noble ex-
ample of liberality in their pastor. Chris-
tians could not but feel that such a man
needs and deserves more than one who, giv-
ing nothing himself, only murmurs about
his salary. Besides, he never fails of a higher
place in the confidence of all who know
him.

We cannot substantiate these views by an
appeal to general experience ; for, unfortu-
nately, we have not tried this great duty
sufficiently to have an experimental demon-
gtration that it is also a great privilege. Ex-

172 THE GEE AT QUESTION.

perience, however, is not wholly wanting on
the subject. We have just learned the fol-
lowing fact in the case of a brother now
widely known and as widely esteemed. On
going to a new station, he found the Church
sorely burdened, as it seemed to them, by a
little debt. Finding this an obstacle to the
success of his labors, he proposed that an im-
mediate effort be made to cancel it, and set
the people an example by contributing
himself The thing was speedily done. Soon
after a delegation from the estimating com-
mittee waited on him to inquire of him how
much salary he would need — a courtesy
which he had not been accustomed to receive,
and they, probably, as unaccustomed to ex-
tend. They informed him of their estimate of
the previous year, but added, that if he in-
tended to give on as liberal a scale as he had
commenced he would need much more. On
this principle they made out their estimate
for him, all of which was paid, and fully one-
third more than the estimate.

In the above case the response may have
been unusually prompt and generous ; yet it
furnishes us an illustration of a law which is
universal in its workings. Its tendency is,
first, to secure more liberal estimates, and
then to increase the probability that they will

THE MINISTRY. 173

be fully and seasonably paid ; thus in every
respect elevating the standard of ministerial
support, and enabling the pastor to indulge
more freely in the luxury of doing good.

Let our conduct forever abolish the idea
now so extensively entertained in the Church-
es, that we are ex officio excused from giving,
and our people, if they have the spirit of
Christ, in fixing our salaries, will estimate
not only for our traveling and table expenses,
house-rent and fuel, the maintenance and
education of our children, the purchase of
books and other things needful in our pro-
fession, but also for the demands of Christian
charity. If they are God's people as well
as ours, they will not omit his part in the
estimate.

But we must not leave out of the account
the doctrine of divine Providence, and the
special promises of God relating to this sub-
ject. We need not introduce them here.
They are familiar, and we have often quoted
them in appealing to others. They decide
the question that, as a general rule, at least,
God bestows liberally upon those who return
a liberal portion into his treasury, Ko one
can believe the word of God and doubt this.
Its promises in all their exceeding greatness
and preciousness are ours.

174: THE GREAT QUESTION.

But it would be unwise to blind ourselves
to the moral certainty that obedience to
this great duty of religion will, in many
cases, subject us at first to special inconven-
ience. Bible giving may, for a time, render
us unable to sustain our position as might
be best for the Church ; and it may cost a
temporary sacrifice of comfort to ourselves
and our families. But if we have acted well
our part, it is not our fault that our stations
are not supported in a style which the cause
of religion demands ; and in the path of duty
we can well afford self-denial, so far as our
Lord sees fit to permit it. He does not for-
get his faithful laborers. The very hairs of
their heads are all numbered, and he will
assuredly overrule all for their good. ISTor
will the fulfillment of his promises relating to
temporal things be long delayed. The very
inconveniences referred to he will employ as
a means of directing public attention to the
advantages of an ample ministerial support.

But, after all, is not the chief difiiculty
which we encounter in this duty, as in the
case of other Christians, to be found in the
possessory passion ? This passion is not in
itself wrong. It is a natural endowment — •
a part of the man himself — and becomes an
evil only when degraded into selfishness.

THE MINISTRY. 1Y5

Like every other passion, it was given for
noble ends; and in the pursuit of high moral
purposes, in subserviency to the will of God,
it may be innocently indulged. God design-
ed to make us happy in the possession as
well as in the use of property. But insepa-
rable from the blessing in this our trial state,
is the struggle which it costs us to surrender
our possessions — a struggle which constitutes
one of the grand turning-points in our career
as probationers for eternal life. The great-
ness of this conflict increases with the in-
crease of our possessions; for it is evident
that the more we have, the more the room for
the exercise of this passion, as not only the
sum with which we are required to part is
greater, but the required proportion is also
greater. Obviously, the only means of con-
quest here is action — immediate, persevering,
systematic action — the cultivation, in reliance
upon divine grace, of a fixed habit of giving — ■
a permanent subjection of this passion to the
dominion of supreme love to God.

Turn now to the magnificent results.

The universal adoption of this rule by the
ministry of our Church would, at once, im-
mensely increase the contributions to our
benevolent enterprises. There are now
about five thousand itinerant ministers in

176 THE GREAT QUESTION.

the Methodist Episcopal Church, receiving
probably an aggregate annual income from
their profession of about two millions of dol-
lars.^ A single tenth of this would amount
to two hundred thousand dollars^ — a sum
equal to the voluntary contributions of the
whole Church for the missionary cause the
last year, or more than two-thirds of the
entire contributions of the Church to all her
benevolent societies.

But under this rule we would give more
than a tenth, for some of us have been
blessed of God with wealth; and propor-
tionate giving, according to the divine re-
quirements, would swell the amount by at
least scores of thousands. It will scarcely
be thought extravagant to affirm that the
Bible law, reduced to practice, would pro-
duce from the ministry alone a sum equal
to all that is now contributed by the Church
to the Bible, Missionary, Tract, and Sunday-
School societies.f

But this is scarcely the beginning of the
glorious consequences flowing from our obe-

'•■• Including house-rent and perquisites, we think this
alow estimate.

t In making this estimate, we would by no means be
understood that our entire contributions should be di-
rected to these enterprises. The temporal wants of
God's poor should not be forgotten.

THE MINISTRY. ITT

dience to God's .blessed law. Upon our ex-
ample more than upon our teaching depends
the question, whether the undeveloped re-
sources of the Church — her conscience to-
ward God, her hoarded treasures, and her
greater wealth of industry and business-
talent — shall be called forth in the great
work of carrying forward the triumphs of
the Redeemer. Let us, as we are required,
exemplify our teachings — be " ensamples to
the flock," " in all things show ourselves
patterns of good works," — and the people,
aroused by the zeal and self-sacrifice of their
ministers, will themselves begin to rise to-
ward the Gospel standard, and with a lav-
ish hand to supply the means for the world's
evangelization. Who that is a follower of
Jesus Christ can hesitate for a moment to
make the sacrifice needful to secure such
stupendous results?

But neither the consistency of giving ac-
cording to the revealed standard with our
own interest, nor the impulses of hearts
thrilled with desires for usefulness, will di-
vert the attention of the minister of Jesus
Christ from the higher motive of religious
obligation. The great question with us, as
with the entire Church, is. What are the re-
quirements of God in respect to our prop-
12

178 THE GEE AT QUESTION.

ertj? In endeavoring to answer this
question, we need not repeat that we arro-
gate not to ourself infallibility. Our only
claim is that we have investigated carefully
and answered honestly.

We have not, however, found the path
of duty on this subject, as it seems to us to
be marked out on the pages of Inspiration,
wholly untrodden by the ministry.

While it is an occasion of deep regret
that the attention of so small a portion of
the good men and true among us has been
aroused to their high calling on this subject,
we are grateful to be enabled, in closing
this chapter, not only to refer the reader to
the familiar examples of Wesley, Baxter,
Doddridge, Watts, and Oberlin, none of
whom gave less than a tenth, and some
much more, but also to present a recent ex-
ample from our own ranks which we think
worthy of universal imitation. We refer to
the late Kev. Richard Treffry, jun., of the
British Wesleyan Connection, author of an
excellent essay on Covetousness, and equally
eminent for talent, piety, and usefulness.
We quote from his Memoirs, pp. 272, 273 : —

" The liberality which he recommended to
others in his writings he exemplified in his
conduct. Though he had a large and in-

THE MINISTRY. 179

creasing family, with a scanty and precarious
income, yet lie conscientiously laid by a
tenth of all the money that came into his
hands, from whatever source it proceeded,
to give to the poor, or to further the cause
of Christianity ; and to this he attributed
the wonderful providence of God in raising
ap for him so many friends, who contributed
voluntarily and cheerfully to supply his
wants. About a month before his death,
after having received a small sum of money,
he said to his wife, ' Have you tithed that
money V When she answered in the affirm-
ative, he said, 'That is right; continue to
do so, and you will ever have the blessing
of God upon you ; but the very day you de-
part from this practice your providential
supplies will fail.' One day their funds ran
so low that his wife told him she was appre-
hensive she must go to the poor-bag (which
happened at that time to be richer than
usual) to supply the exigencies of their
family, when he said, ' Wait until all your
resources are exhausted;' but before that
period arrived some unexpected supply
came, and the money that was sacredly ap-
propriated to the cause of benevolence re-
mained undiminished. * * * * A few days
before his death he remarked to his wife

180 THE GREAT Q¥ESTION.

how tenderly his heavenly Father dealt with
him. ^ Do you not see,' said he, ' how the
promise of God is accomplished in my be-
half?' 'Blessed is he that considereth the
poor : the Lord will deliver him in the time
of trouble. The Lord will strengthen him
upon the bed of languishing. Thou wilt
make all his bed in his sickness.' "

BENEFITS m THIS LIFE. 181

CHAPTER XI.

THE REQUIRED BENEFICENCE PROMOTES THE
WELL-BEING OF OUR FELLOW-MEN IN THE
PRESENT LIFE.

In the foregoing chapters we have shown
what we understand to be the beneficence
required in the Bible, that whatever be our
station it makes its demands upon us all ac-
cording to our means, and have urged com-
pliance chiefly in view of our obligations as
obj ects of the beneficence of God, and sub-
jects of his government, alluding to other
considerations only so far as has seemed
necessary to obviate the difiiculties which
naturally occur to the mind from a partial
survey of the subject. We would now
extend our view to another class of motives
which our divine benefactor and ruler has
furnished us in the human relations in which
he has placed us. In the present chapter
we make our appeal in view of the good
results accruing to our fellow-men in this
life.

Of course, we are not understood to refer

182 THE GREAT QUESTION.

exclusively to temporal things. Earthly
possessions are the least of all the good
things which make even this life desirable,
and in the absence of higher good they
betray man into temptation and a snare,
and into many foolish and hurtful lusts
which drown him in destruction and perdi-
tion, and pierce him through with many
sorrows. Merely to provide for the outward
man, however bountifully, would not be
true beneficence. The disease at the heart
is the sole cause of all the ills which afflict
our race, and the Gospel of Christ is the
only remedy which can reach this seat of
every human malady. While the streams
of misery are flowing in every direction,
they demand attention ; but we must not
forget that their source is the depraved
heart. Dry up the fountain, and the
streams will stop of course. We may more
fitly say. Purify the heart from depravity,
and it will bountifully overflow with love,
under the fertilizing influences of which all
the blighted interests of humanity will
resume their primeval thrift.

The prevailing ignorance of man is but a
natural result of the moral gloom which
overspreads the earth. It is this which
blinds him to the true method of happiness

BENEFITS IN THIS LIFE. 183

and prosperity, and the rays of the Gospel
alone can penetrate and scatter this moral
gloom. To attempt to accomplish this by
any other means would be as foolish as to
think of substituting whited walls for the
beams of the sun. It is because sin has
separated man from God that " the natural
bond of brotherhood is severed," and with
an unfeeling heart he can rob his brother of
his property, his character, his liberty, and
even of his life, for filthy gain ; and in order
that this bond may be restored in its original
strength, man must experience the spiritual
regeneration which the Gospel provides.

We perceive that the motive with which
the Christian is here furnished is one of
great power. It appeals to, and at the
same time tends to the cultivation of every
pure affection of the human heart. It has,
indeed, the united strength of all the cords
which bind society together, and the aggre-
gate weight of all the interests of time.

With the greatest strength the Christian
loves the little family circle of which he is a
member. If a father, how intense his
desire that his children may attain those
elements of character wdiich will secure to
them respectability and influence, and qualify
them to act well their part in the world, and

184 THE GEEAT QTJESTION.

to be worthy examples to the generations
which shall succeed them. But the father
can accomplish these objects for his posterity
only to the extent that he protects them
against sin and error, and surrounds them
with the influences of religion ; and to do
this he must be active in the cause of Chris-
tian beneficence. He must see, at whatever
sacrifice, that a pure Gospel is preached to
his children, and preached under such cir-
cumstances as to secure its strongest and
most permanent influence over them. Pe-
nuriousness in the support of the Gospel, if
it does not immediately destroy its influence
over a family, is generally fatal to its per-
manency. The father who helps to starve
instead of support his minister, may, in
general, depend upon one of two results :
either such disaflfection between the minis-
ter and himself as, in a great degree, to
counteract the influence which his preach-
ing might otherwise exert; or such disre-
spect on the part of his family toward the
minister as will render his influence power-
less over them, if it does not stumble them
into skepticism.

But let not the father conclude that his
children are safe against the devices of Satan
when he has secured faithful preaching for

BENEFITS m THIS LIFE. 185

them, and hasbrouglit them into such a rela-
tion to the religious teacher as to enable him
to influence them. It is undoubtedly true
that internal growth — the religious nurture
and training of the children of the Church
— is indispensable to its progress ; but it is
no less true that the Church can neither
acquire nor retain the vitality requisite to
such internal growth without aggressive
effort. Aggression is one of the essential
characteristics of the Church. The light
of truth was not intended to be hidden
under a bushel. Its treasure cannot be im-
prisoned in self. Besides, it should be re-
membered that, in most places, the tide of
influence is corrupting. The majority is
generally unreligious, and often irreligious ;
and in all places the enemy is busy in sow-
ing tares wherever he can find a foot of un-
guarded soil. The Christian father, then, even
from a regard for the welfare of his children
for this life, must extend his efforts beyond
the immediate wants of his own family, and
be a liberal supporter of the preaching of
the Gospel in behalf of those around him
who feel no interest to provide it for them-
selves. Otherwise it will be impossible for
him to train up his children in the way
they should go, and to drive back the

186 THE GREAT QUESTION.

rushing tide of iniquity which threatens to
overwhelm them.

But it is unsafe to stop here. Just so
sure as the laws of God are immutable, the
father wrongs his posterity unless he is a
whole-hearted Christian. His beneficence
must not be circumscribed by the limits of
his own neighborhood or town. His ear
must ever be open to the calls of suflering
humanity in all the earth; and, as a cheer-
ful giver, he must be ready to the extent of
his ability to administer relief According
to his means, he must systematically aid in
supporting those religious enterprises which
aim to send the rays of Gospel truth into
all the dark portions of the earth. Nor is
this all. He must in all respects be an ex-
ample of beneficence to his children. He
must early teach them to give to the needy
and for the support of religion. In this
respect, as in every other, he must " bring
them up in the nurture and admonition of
the Lord."

History is full of examples illustrative of
this truth. We often speak of the sacrifices
of our pilgrim fathers. They did make sac-
rifices; but God rewarded them in their
posterity in so doing. Their liberality in
the provisions which they made for the re-

BENEFITS IN THIS LIFE. 187

ligious and intellectual education of their
cliildren, has been very signally returned in
blessings upon all the generations which
have succeeded them. This is true in re-
spect to wealth, and intelligence, and virtue,
and liberty. Beyond doubt, through the su-
perintending care of a divine Providence,
every dollar appropriated by them for these
purposes has, in temporal wealth, descended
to us through the generations that have
lived at a large compound interest. But by
means of their liberality also have descend-
ed to us the immeasurably greater blessings
of general intelligence, universal facilities
of education, the priceless boon of liberty,
and religious privileges such as no other
people upon earth have ever enjoyed.
Similar blessings will certainly result to
the generations that will follow us if our
sacrifices shall be as true to the calls of
Providence as were theirs, and shall spring
from as sincere hearts. What a motive is
here presented to us ! Does not its appeal
find a response in the heart of every Chris-
tian father ? and can it fail to stimulate all
who have at heart the well-being of their
descendants to give liberally for every
worthy object of that which God has com-
mitted to them as his stewards ? How many

188 THE GREAT QUESTION.

foolisli fathers are blindly robbing tbe treas-
ury of God that they may hoard up a few
hundreds or thousands, which will curse their
children and their children's children, who,
by setting them an example of liberal and
systematic beneficence, and affording them
also the privilege of contributing regularly
to the Christian cause, might bequeath to
them the legacy of a glorious purpose of in-
telligence, of usefulness, of honor, and, in
general, even a more ample supply of tem-
poral possessions. How plain is the word
of God on this subject : "Trust in the Lord,
and do good ; so shalt thou dwell in the
land, and verily thou shalt be fed." "I have
been young and now am old, yet have I not
seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed
begging bread. He is ever merciful, and
lendeth ; and his seed is blessed."

Again : the Christian is a neighbor and a
citizen, and as such he feels a special inter-
est in whatever concerns the happiness and
prosperity of the hearts and homes around
him, and the general welfare of the commu-
nity of which he is a member. He is inter-
ested in each individual both for his own
sake and for the sake of others who are af-
fected by his influence. He who saves a
young man from the disgrace of a sinful life,

BENEFITS IN THIS LIFE. 189

and awakens him to a conscionsness of ttie
dignity of his being, at the same time saves
his town or village from the intolerable curse
of a degrading influence, it may be for fifty
years ; and for the same period saves a good
neighbor, and a worthy and useful citizen.
But the result stops not here. He dries up a
stream of depravity which otherwise might
continue to flow for thousands of years until
it should spread its polluted waters over the
earth. And besides, he secures evermore
the weight of this man's influence in the
scale of virtue, and permanently engages
his energies on the side of progress in every-
thing which concerns human well-being.
Now all this, and much more, may be ef-
fected through the example and eflTorts of
an earnest Christian. His influence is ele-
vating upon the entire circle of his acquaint-
ance, and is a means of enduring good to all
but those who, in despite of all which can
be done for them, will persist incorrigibly in
their indifi'erence to the claims of God.
But this can be said only of him who is a
Christian according to the Gospel standard
— one who is known by his deeds as well as
his words ; who shrinks not from such per-
sonal effort as encounters difficulties ; who
cheerfully subjects himself to inconvenience

190 THE GREAT QUESTION.

and self-denial ; who spares no effort to sus-
tain the preaching of the Gospel with a lib-
erality which will give it its highest efficient
cy — to provide churches suitable for the
accommodation of the people ; to establish
Sunday schools, and to supply them with
libraries; and to see that every family ig
furnished with the Bible and other religious
reading ; and who, in addition to all this,
shows himself an example of beneficence by
liberal and systematic contributions to the
great enterprises in operation for the evan-
gelization of the world.

The consistent Christian has also an ar-
dent love for the household of Christian
faith to which he belongs — not a blind, big-
oted attachment to his sect, which excludes
love for other Christians, but a peculiar love
for that branch of the Church with which he
is in living union kindred to his peculiar
affection for his own family — a love which
strengthens and intensifies his regard for the
entire Church of Christ. But the Christian
can contribute to the prosperity of his par-
ticular Church only to the extent that he is
active in the cause of beneficence. There
can be no substitute for this.

If a selfish Church is visited by a revival,
much of the good which might result is al-

BENEFITS tN THIS LIFE. 191

ways lost. By her penuriousness she de-
prives herself of those influences which are
essential thoroughly to enlist the new con-
verts in the Christian cause, and to call them
into early and efficient action in the accom-
plishment of the glorious purposes contem-
plated by the divine Founder of the Church.
In consequence of this deficiency, many
of those who are converted are likely to
backslide, and many of the remainder to be
of little use to the Church and the world for
want of something to do. A Church is to
the fullest extent a light to those by whom
she is immediately surrounded only when
she shines with such brilliancy as to send
her rays into all the earth.

Another of the natural forms of that love
which reigns in the Christian's heart is patri-
otism. He loves his country. But the in-
finite Sovereign who " doeth his will among
the inhabitants of the earth," as well as " in
the armies of heaven," has said, " Kighteous-
ness exalteth a nation," and "them that honor
me I will honor." The Christian, then, can
promote the interests of his country in no
other way than by influencing the people to
elect God as their supreme Ruler. But to
accomplish this requires all the enterprise of
the Church in a grand organization for sys-

192 THE GKEAT QUESTION.

tematic Christian beneficence. Men after
God's own heart, anointed by himself for the
work, must be sustained by the Church, and
sent into every neglected part of the nation
to advocate his reign ; the book of God must
be furnished to every family which is desti-
tute of it ; Sunday schools must be establish-
ed in every desolate neighborhood ; and
tracts must be scattered everywhere like the
leaves of autumn.

It is idle to talk of freedom and education
as a guaranty of national permanency and
prosperity. He only is free indeed who is
made free by the Son of God. All others
are in the bondage of sin : —

** He is a freeman whom the truth makes free,
And all are slaves beside."

Education is a necessity ; but sound educa-
tion is the legitimate fruit of godliness. Our
schools shine with a radiance borrowed from
Christianity as really as the moon reflects the
light of the sun. Christianity is the sun
from which emanates all the light which dis-
covers to a nation the path of progress. A
vital religion is ever the pioneer of educa-
tion and freedom, and is the one great engine
of progress.
'Nor should we overlook the relation which

BENEFITS m THIS LIFE. 193

as a people we sustain to the other nations
of the earth. Such are the immutable laws
of God that selfishness is always ruinous to
self-interest. The welfare of the individual,
of the .family, of the Church, of the nation,
each requires a beneficence which is world-
wide. The prosperity of a nation depends in
no small degree upon the condition of other
nations. God will honor us as a people in
proportion as we seek to honor him by exerting
our influence to unite our nation to the other
nations of the earth in a great brotherhood.
From other nations we derive a great
amount of the motive power which stirs the
mind and heart of our own nation. Their
literature either enriches or disgraces our
libraries, and poisons and corrupts, or nour-
ishes and elevates the minds of our people.
In all our intercourse with them we receive
an influence which is either ennobling or
degrading. Even for our temporal wealth
we are in a great degree dependent upon
our commerce with them.

In sending the Gospel to other nations,
then, we are, at the same time, purifying
those fountains of influence which are con-
stantly pouring in their streams of good or
evil upon our own land. Our ofierings for
the spiritual good of other nations are large-
13

194 THE GREAT QUESTION.

ly rewarded to our own nation even in a
pecuniary sense. We appropriate a sum
probably not exceeding that expended upon
some of our railroads to evangelize the Sand-
wich Islands. The rays of the Gospel dispel
the gloom of heathenism, and civilization and
enterprise follow as naturally as the earth
produces its fruits under the influence of re-
freshing rain and a summer's sun. As one
result to our nation, we have, in a few years.
a prosperous commerce with these islands, by
which we are receiving a tenfold return
for all the treasure we have expended.
We plant a colony in Africa in behalf of a
down-trodden race ; and in a quarter of a
century our commerce with it has opened a
new field of national enterprise, and become
a new source of national wealth. Thus pa-
triotism is a powerful motive for the spread
of Christianity throughout the earth.

But the Christian's love is not bounded by
national limits. His affections encircle the
entire race. He is a philanthropist at heart,
and not merely as a matter of expediency.
"The heart of the Christian is a shoreless
ocean of love." He regards all men as his
brethren, and he sighs in view of the igno-
rance, and depravity, and wretchedness of the
hundreds of millions who sit in darkness and

BENEFITS IN THIS LIFE. 195

the shadow of death. But the only way per-
manently to improve their condition in any
respect is to extend to them the blessings of
Christianity — " to go into all the world and
preach the Gospel to every creature." It is
sin which has blighted this once fair world, and
changed it to a moral wilderness : " the grace
of God which briugeth salvation," alone is
efficacious to restore it to its primitive beauty.
To every true Christian, this dependence
of man's earthly well-being upon religion is
a very fruitful source of genuine zeal in the
cause of beneficence. The father would die
for his son, the patriot for his country ; and
the philanthropist, regardless of danger and
toil, devotes his property and his life in
searching the haunts of misery and relieving
the wants of the sufi'ering. But philanthro-
py, and patriotism, and paternal love, and
every virtuous affection, combine to awaken
the Christian to the most vigorous exertion
for the salvation of his fellow-men from sin.
Christianity reaches at once the real cause of
all evil. It furnishes the only remedy for the
desolate condition of our world ; and, in its
progressive career, it is destined finally to
change all the blighted forests of humanity
into a paradise of redeemed and consecrated
intelligences.

196 THE GREAT QUESTION.

CHAPTEE XII.

THE REQIHRED BENEFICENCE A DIVINE INSTRU-
MENTAI.ITT IN THE ETERNAL SALTATION OF
OUR FELLOW-MEN.

In the preceding chapter we have considered
the results of Christian Beneficence in the
present life. Let us now direct our attention
to its results in the life to come. The spirit-
ual riches which its efforts are instrumental
in bestowing upon the world, to all who are
faithful to their trust, are immortal. Here
the tree is planted and nurtured, and will
extend its branches, richly laden with the
fruit of happiness and holiness, until they
will overshadow the earth. Then, trans-
planted to the soil of paradise, it will bear
the same celestial fruit forever.

That which God receives into his treasury
is a sure investment, for it can never be
wrested from him. It is under the special
care of omnipotent Wisdom and Love. Of
its success there can be no more doubt than
that souls shall be saved through the suffer-
ings and death of Christ ; for, by divine ap-

RESULTS IN THE LIEE TO COME. 197

pointment, the sacrifices of Christian benef-
icence are associated with the great sacrifice
of atonement, and that the latter shall not
fail we have the sure word of God. " When
he sliall make his soul an ofifering for sin he
shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days,
and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper
in his hand. He shall see the travail of his
soul and be satisfied : by his knowledge
shall my righteous servant justify many ; for
he shall bear their iniquities." In accord-
ance with this, when the object is to inspire
Christians with zeal in the work of the Lord
they are uniformly addressed in terms of
encouragement. " Fear not, little flock, for
it is your Father's good pleasure to give you
the kingdom." "Be of good cheer, I have
overcome the world." " Even the veryliairs
of your head are all numbered." "Lo,I am
with you always, even unto the end of the
world." " Therefore, my beloved brethren,
be ye steadfast, un movable, always abound-
ing in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as
ye know that your labor is not in vain in the
Lord."

These promises have been signally veri-
fied in every age of the Church, and always
in proportion to the spirit of self-sacrifice by
which she has been characterized. Already

198 THE GREAT QTJESTION.

millions, converted tlirougli her instrument-
ality, have triumphed in the hour of death
in the assurance of a glorious immortality ;
and who can doubt that other millions of
her converts, many of whom, but a few
years ago, were in the darkness of paganism,
are now in the way to heaven ?

But Christian beneficence is not only cer-
tain to be followed by eternal results : its
results are also destined to an eternal ex-
pansion. Even when it is not immediately
successful, it becomes evermore a divine in-
strumentality— a part of the aggregate
means by which the work of saving souls is
carried forward, and the world will finally
be restored to the dominion of the Prince of
Peace. Every Christian, however unprom-
ising the human view, may contribute his
efi'orts to the work of sowing the good seed
of religious truth, in full assurance that the
day of eternity will reveal a glorious har-
vest. In the realms of bliss he may meet
multitudes unknown to him upon earth, to
whose salvation his efi'orts shall have instru-
mentally contributed.

Doubtless the influence of the poor widow
in giving her two mites already bears a re-
lation to the salvation of many thousands
who have entered the paradise of God, amid

RESULTS IN THE LIFE TO COME. 199

the felicities of which the free powers of the
soul will unfold forever. And who shall
say, that, on the great day when the history
of the world shall pass in review, hundreds
of similar sacrifices shall not be found con-
nected with results equally glorious ? They
may have been unobserved by the eye of the
world, and yet have had the greatest prom-
inence in the counsels of heaven. A poor
woman in needy circumstances resolved to
spin an extra hank of yarn a week, that she
might be able to subscribe a penny a week
to the missionary cause. Now may it not
be reasonably concluded, that, under the
superintending care of the infinite Benefac-
tor, each hard-earned penny of this poor
woman will ultimately exert an influence
equal to the rescue of one precious soul from
the darkness of heathenism and the bondacfe
of sin to the light and liberty of a child of
God ? A blind man, very poor in the things
of this world, but rich in faith, gave twenty-
five cents, which was all his living, toward
the erection of churches in the "West. Now
a few thousand similar contributions are
sufficient to build a church, in which the
faithful preaching of the Gospel may be in-
strumental in the conversion of hundreds,
and even thousands of souls. But this is not

200 THE GKEAT QUESTION.

half the good which will result. Under the
same preaching, Christians will be nourished
with the truth and built up in the faith of
the Gospel ; and a restraining and elevating
moral and religious influence will be exerted
upon the entire surrounding population for
thirty or forty years. ISTor does the good
stop here. This is only the beginning. This
little church will be a perpetual honor and
blessing to the nation and to the world. The
stream of hallowed influence here formed by
the combination of thousands of little rills,
will in time spread its waters over the earth,
and, flowing adown succeeding ages, will
swell the eternal ocean of felicity. Now, to
all these sublimely glorious results, the self-
sacrificing contribution of this poor blind
man will forever bear an instrumental rela-
tion. Equally great and glorious will be the
influence of the reader and the writer, if they
are equally faithful almoners of that which
God has intrusted to them.

Again : the sacrifices of Christian benefi-
cence will constitute an eternal bond of
union to the saved. Heaven is not portion-
ed off for the accommodation of penurious
spirits. It is a holy compact of such as
upon earth, in imitation of the Son of God,
" pleased not themselves, but every one his

RESULTS IN THE LIFE TO COME. 201

neighbor for his good to edification ;" who
" sought not their own profit, but the profit
of many, that they might be saved ;" and
who, for this purpose, were wilhng to be-
come poor in the things of this world, and
even " to lay down their lives." They are
all united by cords of love, formed by self-
sacrificing efibrt for each other's well-being
while they were probationers, and by a com-
mon likeness to and union with the great
Benefactor. Every sincere endeavor to do
good here, will constitute a peculiar tie of
relationship there. Thus each one will be
bound by an ardent gratitude to all whose
efforts shall be found connected with his
salvation, and, in turn, will receive the most
affectionate greetings from all to whom his
own faithfulness shall have been the means
of good. This twofold bond, uniting the
past and the future, will link, in indissoluble
union, the good of all ages. True, each
one cannot be instrumental in the salvation
of all ; but he may in the case of multi-
tudes ; and the salvation of every soul will
be a never-failing source of joy to all the
redeemed. Besides, true Christian benefi-
cence is never limited in its aims to the sal-
vation of one soul, nor of one neighborhood,
nor of one generation. It embraces the

202 THE GEEAT QUESTION.

world with all its unborn generations, and is
satisfied with nothing less than the largest
possible results. This universal love cher-
ished by the Christian — this aim to do all
which is possible to save all whom his influ-
ence can reaches one of the essential char-
acteristics of a true son of Heaven, and one
of the cords which will bind its inhabitants
in an eternal brotherhood.

Once more : The salvation of souls is a mo-
tive of great strength to the Christian, be-
cause of its affinity with his peculiar desires
and aspirations. It is the very nature of the
Christian to abhor sin, to pity the degraded
and unfortunate, to love all men as brethren,
and to desire that all may enjoy true happi-
ness, now and forever. If time were the limit
of his own existence, his benevolence might
relate only to the interests of time'; but bear-
ing as he does the image of the Eternal, by
a law of his being, his heart yearns for the
eternal life of his fellow-men. But how
mournful the facts which a glance at the state
of the world presents to him ! Hundreds of
millions who bear the same relation to God
and eternity that he does, in whose veins flows
blood kindred to his own, who, like himself,
are endowed with capacities for ever-increas-
ing happiness and holiness, who might be

RESULTS m THE LIFE TO COME. 203

heirs with Christ to an everlasting inheritance
in heaven, he beholds "dead in trespasses
and sins," — "without hope and without God
in the world," almost as careless and ignorant
of immortality as the beasts that perish. Now,
in view of the certainty that, by diligence
and self-sacrifice, he may contribute a certain
measure of influence to the accomplishment
of a work so dear to his heart as that of res-
cuing these his brethren from their lost con-
dition, and restoring them to an eternal life
of holiness, surely we need not pause to exhort
him to effort. He who hesitates with such
a motive before him, may well suspect the
genuineness of his faith. His want is not
more exhortation nor more instruction, but a
new baptism of the fire of divine love. Let
him seek this, and it will kindle in his heart
a flame of love for the souls of men. Then,
the words of inspiration will be sufficient to
thrill him with a zeal which will be irrepress-
ible. "Let him know that he which convert-
eth the sinner from the error of his way shall
save a soul from death, and shall hide a mul-
titude of sins."

204: THE GREAT QUESTION.

CHAPTEK XIII.

THE KEQTJIRED BENEFICENCE A JUST EETUKN
FOR THE GOOD WHICH WE HAVE RECEIVED AS
OBJECTS OF THE BENEFICENCE OF OTHERS.

Though all the blessings with which we are
favored come from the hand of the divine
Benefactor, yet with their bestowment the
beneficent efiforts of onr fellow-men are often
associated, and thence arises a direct obliga-
tion of gratitude to them. This obligation,
it is true, is small in comparison ; but it is as
real as though no other existed, and is great
in itself — so great as to constitute a just claim
to our utmost endeavors. Indeed, to give all
and do all we can, is but a small return for the
advantages which we all enjoy through the
unselfish ofiferings of Christian beneficence.

If we are ourselves blessed with abundance,
yet it is morally certain that some of our
ancestors, and probably not many generations
back, needed and received the helping hand
of charity, and that as the result we are bet-
ter off to-day. We have thus inherited the
debt as a sacred and perpetual obligation.
Equally clear, if not equally forcible, is our

GRATITUDE EXPRESSED. 205

obligation to beneficence in view of assistance
generously rendered to our neighborhood, or
town, or country, in some season of extremity.
Though the famine, or pestilence, or war, may
not have reached our own dwellings, yet, as
neighbors, as patriots, and especially as
Christians, we felt ourselves, as in fact we
were, involved in the public calamity, and
indebted to those who volunteered relief.
How often, in the early history of our coun-
try, did the colonies, now grown to thriving
states, march to each other's aid in their con-
flicts with tlie savage tribes by which they
were surrounded. At a later period the cry
of suffering in one city, produced by an ex-
tensive conflagration or by some wasting
contagion, has been answered by liberal con-
tributions from another city. Our pilgrim
ancestors, in the day of their extremity, were
relieved by benevolent persons in England.
Within a few years the suffering of the poor
in England and Ireland has afforded us an
opportunity to respond to the obligation.
France aided us in fighting our country's
battles and gaining our freedom. Now, the
door is open for us to bestow upon France
the saving truth of the Gospel, which alone
can secure to her the freedom for which she
has so long vainly struggled. Though the

206 THE GEEAT QUESTION".

blessing which it is ours to bestow is much
greater than that which we received, yet it
will cost us much less pecuniary sacrifice.
Besides, who shall say that, even for this
most valuable of our possessions, we are not,
in part, indebted to the aid received from
France at a period when the question was
vassalage or independence. To aid us in
deciding that question she sent to us thousands
of her sons and millions of her treasure. Is it
anything more than just that we should re-
turn a few thousands from our treasures, to
aid in rescuing her sons from the more de-
plorable bondage of Popery and Atheism,
and restoring to them true freedom ?

But vastly more extensive is our indebt-
edness to the beneficence of others for spir-
itual blessings. The reader may never have
known what it was to be poor in the things
of this world ; but .very likely he was once
so entirely destitute of the true riches as to
depend solely upon the beneficence of others
for the word of life. This is doubtless true
of more than one reader of these pages, who
is now rejoicing in the witness of adoption.
Though afi^uent in the goods of earth, he paid
nothing toward the erection of churches, the
support of preaching, supplying libraries for
Sunday schools, and the distribution of

GRATITUDE EXPEES8ED. 207

Bibles and religious tracts. But through
some of these agencies, or through all of
them combined, he has been restored from
death in sin to a life of godliness — from
total blindness to his true interests to a clear
perception of them, and of the true method
of securing them ; from the bondage of
Satan to the freedom of a child of God;
from the poverty of one utterly destitute of
enduring riches to the present possession of
a treasure he would not exchange for worlds
of solid gold, and to heirship with Christ to
an inheritance " incorruptible, undefiled, and
that fadeth not away" in heaven.

How many thousands now in the ranks of
the militant Church were led to seek the
great salvation by means of tracts gratui-
tously distributed. How many thousands
more were gathered into the Redeemer's
fold by the gratuitous religious instruction
of Sunday schools. Again, how many thou-
sands were converted through the agency of
Churches which were originally planted by
means of missionary contributions, or by the
nearly or quite unpaid services of the minis-
ters of Christ. A large proportion of the
present members of our branch of the Church
— probably a third of all — were brought to a
saving knowledge of the truth by means of

208 THE GREAT QUESTION.

religious agencies, for the support of which
neither they nor their parents had previously
contributed anything. If you, dear reader,
are one of this number, how great is your
debt ! But if this is not your case, is it not
the case of a beloved companion, or of some
other dear friend of yours ? A preacher of
the Gospel, widely known by his able and
eloquent appeals in behalf of the missionary
enterprise, feelingly stated, as one of the
motives which prompted his efforts, that a
niece of his whom he tenderly loved was
converted through the instrumentality of a
Christian Missionary in South America,
where she was residing the wife of a United
States consul. He justly regarded this as
constituting him a debtor to the missionary
cause. A proof this that neither wealth, nor
talent, nor station exempts us from depend-
ence upon the beneficence even of the poor;
for this faithful missionary was probably a poor
man, and depended largely for his support
upon those who were in humble circumstances.
We have only to take a broader view, to
discover that we are all indebted for the
blessings of the Gospel to the sacrifices of
others. Its first preachers became fools in
the estimation of their countrymen, endured
poverty and violent persecution, and most

GKATITTDE EXPRESSED. 209

of them even laid down their lives ; and all
this in the cause of Christ for the salvation
of the world. How many since have suffer-
ed martyrdom in the same cause. IvTow the
sacrifices of fill these noble men are con-
nected with our own salvation. They pro-
claimed and defended the truth, even unto
death, against those who sought its extinc-
tion ; and they have bequeathed it to us,
with the legacy of their bright example, to
febuke our unfaithfulness, and to inspire us
to fidelity and zeal. Their names form a
bright galaxy ever shedding upon us a hal-
lowed radiance.

The Gospel has come to us through some
of the very nations whicli are now dependent
upon us to return it. Western Asia, now so
benighted, was once its radiating center.
To Greece we are indebted for some of the
ablest defenders and brightest examples of
the Christian faith. From Rome, in which
now reigns the double night of Popery and
infidelity, Christianity once shone with a
brightness which illuminated Europe, and
kindled a fadeless light in England, from
which its pure beams were reflected upon
our own land. Those nations in which the
light of truth has gone out are doubtless
culpable ; but with their faults we have
14

210 THE GREAT QUESTION.

nothing to do. If they have been unfaithful
to God, to him they are responsible. This
does not cancel our obligations to them,
and to the world through them, for the good
which they have bestowed upon us. By
greater faithfulness to God, they might have
placed us under still higher obligations to
them. But the good which we have actually
received from them is such as cannot be
estimated in silver and gold.

We need not extend this enumeration of
facts; for a glance at the subject shows
beyond a doubt, that, both for temporal and
spiritual things, we are largely indebted to
the unrequited beneficence of our fellow-
men. To be dispossessed of all the good
which we have thus received, would be our
utter ruin. How great, then, are our obliga-
tions to our race. From a sense of justice
to the world, as well as from the command
of God and the promptings of love, we
ought all to be practically benevolent.

To repay the debt is impossible. That
our present blessings and our hopes of
eternal good have, in a great degree, come
to us instrumentally through the sacrifices of
others, is a fact ; and our obligation will run
parallel with our endless being. But to pay
the interest we have abundant opportunities.

GRATITUDE EXPEESSEB. 211

It is not always possible to make a direct
return to those of whose benevolence we are
reaping the fruits ; but, as we have seen, it
it is often our privilege to confer blessings
upon their posterity, or their countrymen.
But the truly benevolent, though the best
of fathers and sons and brothers, and the
most devoted of patriots, belong not exclu-
sively to one family, or one nation, or one
age, but to the great family of man in all
ages. They love all men as themselves;
and pur obligation to them is equally ac-
knowledged by relief afforded to the needy
or suffering of whatever land or age. Like
the great Benefactor whose image they bear,
they regard good bestowed upon the humblest
of their brethren of the human family as
bestowed upon themselves.

212 THE GREAT QUESTION.

CHAPTEE XIY.

THE EEQUTRED BENEFICENCE FAVORABLE TO
PROSPERITY IN ACQUIRING TEMPORAL POS-
SESSIONS.

Duty toward God, and benevolence toward
the world, ever go hand in hand with self-
interest. If we mistake not, the practical
weight of this truth is much greater than is
generally supposed. When it shall be once
thoroughly impressed upon the mind of the
Church, a great advantage will be gained
for the Christian cause. It will not make
her perfect. It will not directly increase
her piety. Strictly speaking, religion is the
only motive which imparts to her new
strength. But when she shall have deeply
learned that giving all and doing all which
God requires of her for the salvation of the
world is promotive of every interest of time
as well as of eternity, one of the now weakest
points in her citadel will be fortified ; and
this will be the achievement of a great vic-
tory. Some of the channels which now
drain her resources will be closed up. She

TRUE SELF-INTEREST. 213

will learn her real strengtli ; and, instead of
wasting it in parleying with the enemy, she
will concentrate it in extending the conquests
of redemption.

While, then, we should ever remember
that religious obligation is the great motive
upon which the cause of Christian beneficence
is dependent for strength and stability, it
by no means follows that the motive of self-
interest should be disregarded. God himself
addresses it upon almost every page, both
in his written word, and in the volume of
his providence. It is a moving power in
the mind of man, and it has a province of
its own in which it rules. And this province
is really enlarged when the kingdom of God
is set up in the heart. He who is thoroughly
a Christian, has escaped from that bondage
to Satan which chains him to the present
and to the groveling objects of sense. He
is alive to the interests of eternity as well
as to those of time. He will not barter
heaven for earth. Besides, he sees the real
value of his interests, and his estimate of
them is immeasurably augmented. They
all become eternal. And, what is directly
to the purpose, he feels the force of the truth
that he is not his own, and sees that the
interests of self are inseparably connected

214 THE GREAT QUESTION.

with the glory of God and the interests of
his fellow-men.

Thus self-interest suggests and intensifies
all the other motives to beneficence. A
regard for it becomes a duty, and is blended
with every aspiration of holy love. In this
chapter we appeal to that interest which
man naturally and properly feels in those
inferior possessions which are peculiar to the
present life. Our position here is, that
Scriptural beneficence is favorable even to
this lowest form of prosperity.

In respect to this there is no ground for
rational doubt to the believer in Christianity ;
for revelation is very explicit. It is, how-
ever, a subject upon which there is much
liability to err. That it may be examined
intelligently, we will, in the outset, quote
entire several passages relating to it, that
they may mutually explain each other.
" Trust in the Lord, and do good ; so shalt
thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt
be fed." " I have been young and now am
old ; yet have I not seen the righteous for-
saken, nor his seed begging bread. He is ever
merciful, and lendeth ; and his seed is bless-
ed." " Honor the Lord with thy substance,
and with the first-fruits of all thine increase :
so shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and

TRUE SELF-mTEEEST. 216

thy presses shall burst out with new wine."
" There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth ;
there is that witholdeth more than is meet,
but it tendeth to poverty. The liberal soul
shall be made fat: and he that watereth
shall be watered also himself." " The liberal
deviseth liberal things ; and by liberal things
shall he stand." "Ye are cursed with a
curse : for ye have robbed me, even this
whole nation. Bring ye all the tithes into
the storehouse, that there may be meat in
my house, and prove me now herewith,
saith the Lord of Hosts, if I will not open you
the windows of heaven, and pour you out a
blessing, that there shall not be room enough
to receive it. And I will rebuke the
devourer for your sakes, and he shall not
destroy the fruits of your ground ; neither
shall your vine cast her fruit before the time
in the held, saith the Lord of Hosts. And all
nations shall call you blessed." "Give, and
it shall be given unto you ; good measure,
pressed down, and shaken together, and
running over, shall men give into your bosom.
For with the same measure that ye mete
withal, it shall be measured to you again."
" He which soweth sparingly, shall reap also
sj^aringly ; and he which soweth bountifully
shall reap also bountifully. Every man

216 THE GREAT QUESTION.

according as lie purposeth in his heart, so
let him give ; not grudgingly, or of neces-
sity : for God loveth the cheerful giver.
And God is able to make all grace abound
toward you; that ye, always having all
sufficiency in all things, may abound to every
good work."

Such is a specimen of the unequivocal
declarations with which the Bible abounds
on this subject. They most emphatically
assume that God exercises a particular prov-
idence in behalf of those who are faithful
to their stewardship. For them he " opens
the windows of heaven," and " rebukes the
devourer;" while to the unfaithful he says,
" Ye are cursed with a curse."

God is abundantly able to fulfill his prom-
ises. All the treasures of earth and heaven
are under his absolute control. The inex-
haustible reservoirs of wealth and honor and
influence are his, and he can cause his
streams to flow out from them in what di-
rection soever he will. His resources are
infinite, and he employs them all in accom-
plishing his declared purpose, specially to
promote the temporal as well as the spiritual
interests of those who are true to their trust.
All the uniform laws by which God governs
the world are framed with a special refer-

TRUE SELF-INTEREST. 217

eiice to this immutable principle in his econ-
omy.

The reasonableness of this is obvious at a
glance. It is just what we should naturally
expect, that Grod should increase the trust
to those who are good stewards, and should
say to him who wastes his goods, "Tbou
mayest be no longer steward." So every
wise man would do by those whom he should
appoint as stewards over portions of his
property. The temporal as well as the spir-
itual interests of those who give liberally to
support the poor and religion are identified
with the interests of Christ. Hence, in pros-
pering them, God is advancing his own
cause in the earth ; for they are acting the
very part which he designed in his own sys-
tem of beneficence.

This class of divine promises obviously
appeals to man's natural desire to be a pos-
sessor. But we are not to infer that a liberal
beneficence will, in all cases, immediately
secure its full gratification. Probably some
sincere Christians are not yet strong enough
to render worldly prosperity safe, their nat-
ural tendency to love the world being so
strong that its possessions, if largely intrust-
ed to them, would be sure to engage their
affections and occasion their ruin. In the

218 THE GREAT QUESTION.

case of sncli persons, it is not at all mysteri-
ous that the divine Benefactor should only
moderately supply them with that gold
which is perishable, and would peril their
all; and should reward them, if faithful
stewards over their limited trusty with those
riches which will never perish — " in the
pure coin of heaven."

Let not the poor Christian, however, in
any case, infer that his destitution is the re-
sult of his conformity to the Gospel standard
of liberality. Had he apostatized — given
up his religion — we do not say but God
might have made him an example, by aban-
doning him a victim to worldly prosperity.
That would have been no gain to him. It
would have made him the possessed instead
of the possessor — the slave instead of the
master. But so long as he sincerely aims to
lead a Christian life, he may rely upon the
word of God, that, if he is permitted to suf-
fer want, it is not because he is liberal ; for
it is an immutable divine law that liberality
tends to prosperity. Had he neglected to
give as God requires, it is altogether proba-
ble, if not certain, that he would either have
been still poorer, or God would have "let
liim alone " in his robbery till the great day
of final reckoning.

TRUE SELF-INTEREST. 219

If we understand these promises, more-
over, it is not wealth, but thrifty which they
offer to the liberal — not hoarded riches, but
riches flowing out into the various channels
of benevolence as constantly and freely as
they are received. They appeal not to a
depraved love of money, which blights every
generous susceptibility of the soul, and de-
grades man to the condition of a slave ; but
to a spirit of manly enterprise, to that sanc-
tified desire of possession which is consistent
with the highest moral freedom and the
purest and largest benevolence — not to the
passion of cupidity, but to a holy ambition
to gain all we can lawfully gain as a means
of doing good. They are addressed not to
the miser, whose all-absorbing desire is for
gain, but to him who, while he experiences
a real and proper gratification in receiving,
feels it to be yet more blessed to give. We
may and ought suitably to provide for our
own households; and, within the limits of
Christian economy, to do this liberally, if we
can, and yet give liberally. Those who are
called to serve God in such enterprises as
demand capital, may, with the same proviso,
acquire so much as is needed. But what-
ever a man accumulates beyond this, will
assuredly be a curse to himself and to his

220 THE GREAT QUESTION.

family. It is nothing less than robbing God.
We are absolutely forbidden to lay up treas-
ures upon earth.

It scarcely need be said that no one has
any claim to these promises except he
comply with all their conditions. To be
entitled to them he must act from a sense
of religious obligation, and in the spirit of
benevolence ; and he must give liberally
and systematically. They belong to " the
righteous," who, in doing good, " trusts in
the Lord," and gives that in so doing he
may "honor the Lord with his substance"
— to " the merciful," who " gives not grudg-
ingly or of necessity," but as a " cheerful
giver" — to "the liberal soul" that "deviseth
liberal things" — to him who "honors the
Lord with the first-fruits of all his increase,"
giving not a twentieth or a fiftieth at his
convenience, but promptly and regularly
bringing the full proportion required, "all
the tithes into the storehouse " of the Lord.

It is now obvious that the beneficence en-
couraged in the divine promises is the very
means which the Christian needs for increas-
ing his qualifications for the responsibilities
of a steward. It aftords him an opportuni-
ty to acquire strength of principle, and thus
it counteracts any tendency he may have to

TEIJE SELF-ESTTEEEST. 221

set his heart upon the world, and thereby
renders it safe to his own soul as well as to
the interests of Christ's cause to intrust him
with its possessions.

It is also plain that this style of giving is,
in all respects, favorable to prosperity in
business. It requires system, one of the
great essentials to success. It tends to the
cultivation of habits of industry and frugali-
ty. "A good man showeth favor and lend-
eth. He will guide his affairs with discre-
tion." It secures the healthful and vigorous
action of all those powers of mind by which
he is enabled to acquire property, and thus
qualifies him to manage business with greater
skill and on a more extended scale. Again, it
insures the confidence of his fellow-men.
To a great extent it disarms the malicious.
Few are so hardened as not to respect the
rights of those whom they know make a
wise and benevolent use of their possessions.
Such a reputation is not unfrequently a bet-
ter security against the midnight thief than
are bars and bolts. But still greater is the
advantage which this reputation gives a
man in his business relations. Many men
who pride themselves in making good bar-
gains at the expense of the penurious and the
covetous, would scorn to do this in their deal-

222 THE GREAT QUESTION.

ings with those who live to do good. Their
presence restores in them a sense of honor
and justice. Thus Christianity, beginning
with the poor, elevates them to competence
by the very sacrifices which it requires from
their limited store. One has only to consult
his common-sense to insure the conviction,
that, if all the poor conscientiously gave the
first tenth of their income to the Lord, not one
in twenty of those who now throng our alms-
houses would ever be reduced to this disagree-
able necessity. We should despair of reason-
ing with a man to whom this is not obvious.
It should be further noticed that these
promises reach to the posterity of the
beneficent. They are made to man not
as a selfish, but as a social being. They
address his interest in his children and in his
children's children. This fact is some-
times stated, and in all cases is doubtless
implied. Of " the righteous" who " is ever
merciful and lendeth," the Psalmist says, " I
have not seen his seed begging bread."
" His seed is blessed." So also the promise
made to Abraham, and repeated to Jacob,
included his seed after him. It had its high-
est fulfillment several centuries after his de-
cease. K we could trace the history of
families, doubtless we should find multitudes

TRUE SELF-INTEREST. 223

of similar illustrations. The laws upon
which the reflex influence of beneficence is
based begin to operate at once, but they
have not time to produce the grandest
results in a single generation. But succeed-
ing generations, unless by gross selfishness
they forfeit the title, will infallibly reap the
golden fruit. Every ofi'ering which a man
makes to the treasury of God, by a divine
decree, becomes a perpetual and profitable
investment for the benefit of his family, of
the Church of his choice, of his town, of his
country, of the world. The motive here is
in direct contrast with avarice. Avarice,
like every other depraved passion, demands
immediate indulgence. It blinds its victim
to the welfare of his children, destroys his
power to love, and shuts him up forever in
the gloomy prison of self But the motive
presented to the mind in the divine promises
takes a man out of self, discovers to him an
inspiring future, kindles in his heart an
afiection for the generations that will follow
him, and thus secures the free, joyous action
of all his powers.

«' True self-love and social are the same."

Finally, it should be observed that the
promise of temporal good to the beneficent

224 THE GREAT QXTESTION.

is intimately related to, and blended with,
the promise of spiritual good. If, then,
in some cases temporal prosperity is not
enjoyed by those who give to the extent of
their means, yet the promise is fulfilled in
the spirit of it, in that they become sure
heirs to the exhaustless treasures of heaven.
The things of earth are not to be regarded
as an ultimate reward to the faithful. We
have no permanent interest in them, for
they are all perishable ; and besides, this is
not our permanent abode. A limited amount
of earthly things may contribute to our com-
fort for a season, and enable us to do good.
But if extreme poverty be occasionally the
lot of one whose all is consecrated to God,
yet he can rest calmly upon the broader
promises, that '' it is accepted according to
that a man hath, and not according to that
he hath not ;" and that ^' all things work to-
gether for his good," in facilitating his
progress in laying up eternal treasure.

THE LIFE TO COME. 225

CHAPTER XY.

THE REQUIRED BENEFICENCE INDISPENSABLE TO
A PREPARATION FOR THE LIFE TO COME.

No truth appears more prominently on the
pages of revelation than that the present life
is probationary — that we are here determin-
ing whether happiness or misery shall be our
portion in eternity. To enable us to deter-
mine this question wisely, the divine Bene-
factor has furnished us every possible facility.
This, indeed, as we have seen in the second
chapter of this essay, is the grand purpose con-
templated in the entire economy of his provi-
dence. Thus he has made us his stewards,
that we may prove ourselves faithful to him
by applying that which he commits to us ac-
cording to his requirements — placed us over a
few things that he may prepare us to be rulers
3ver many things ; and he has made us pos-
sessors, *hat, by giving of our own to promote
the welfare of others, we may acquire that
principle of godlike benevolence which is
essential to preparation for heaven. But the •
very opportunity which is afforded us of
proving ourselves faithful, implies equal
16

226 THE GKEAT QUESTION.

power to be faithless. The sacred trust
which was intended as a means of good, we,
as moral agents, may pervert into an instru
ment of evil. We may treacherously with-
hold our Lord's goods from his service, and
thereby incur his everlasting condemnation.
"We may selfishly turn a deaf ear to the
wants and woes of our perishing brethren,
and, in so doing, perish ourselves forever.
Them that honor God with their substance,
and them only, he will honor with ever-
lasting life.

In accordance with this great principle in
his government, the Creator has so framed
the human constitution that all its laws are
adapted to beneficence and opposed to self-
ishness. Man was made to love God su-
premely, and his neighbor as himself, and to
glorify God in doing good to all men, as he
has opportunity. This is as much his natu-
ral sphere of action as atmospheric air is the
natural element for the expansion of his
lungs. To see him selfishly engrossed in the
world — suffering the affections of his un-
dying soul to be placed on its corroding
treasures — is as unnatural a sight as it would
be to see the king of the forest imitating a
crawling worm, or the royal eagle wallowing
in the filth of the swine. He, then, who

THE LIFE TO COME. 227

lives to himself alone, not only conflicts with
the will of God, but he acts in opposition to
the laws of his own being. He degrades
himself, and works his own ruin. The calls
of his depraved appetite may be gratified,
but the gratification is necessarily nauseous
to his taste ; and, by repeating the indul-
gence, such appetite constantly gains strength
until it makes liim its slave. On the other
hand, the beneficent man is true to nature
as well as to God and the world. All within
is felt to be harmonious, and his labors of
love never fail to secure a present reward in
the delightful emotions which they excite.
And the longer he continues in the practice
of them the more intense is their pleasure,
until they acquire the constancy of a per-
manent habit. Thus the beneficent man in-
wardly experiences the truth that " it is more
blessed to give than to receive." Here we
notice two facts.

First, beneficence secures the pleasure of
the approval of conscience, while its neglect
incurs the lashings of its rebukes. We refer
not now to the fact that beneficence is right
and selfishness is wrong, but to the joyful
sense of right which the Framer of the hu-
man mind has associated with the approval
of conscience, and to the sting of remorse

^28 THE GREAT QUESTION.

which he has connected with its rebukes.
Even though our sacrifices may cost us a
struggle against a selfish propensity not yet
wholly overcome, still there is a sense of
true elevation of character — of genuine in-
dependence of soul — in the victory achieved
over self, and a glorious satisfaction in the
consciousness of faithfulness to our steward-
ship, and that we are living to purpose.

The other fact alluded to is, that benefi-
cence is the legitimate means of cultivating
a benevolent disposition, which is to its pos-
sessor a perpetual fountain of the purest
happiness, and is a sure antidote to selfish-
ness, which would convert the heart into a
pool of corruption and bitterness. To be
happy, then, man must be benevolent, and
to be benevolent he must be beneficent.
There is no other means by which he can
treasure up heaven within him.

But it is not happiness which is placed
before us as the standard of attainment.
Happiness is the gift of God as the reward
of the attainment of virtuous character.
God would bestow upon us that exalted
happiness which is kindred to his own ; and
to this end it is essential that we acquire
character kindred to his. In order that we
may do this, we must cultivate a spirit of

THE LIFE TO COME. 229

t)becHence to G-od, and of benevolence to-
ward our fellow-beings, under circumstan-
ces which will cost us self-denial. This is
tlie only way in which our wills can become
conformed to the will of God, and benevo-
lence can become a moral principle — in a
word, tliis is the only way in which we can
become godlike. Let no one imagine that
the provisions of grace will save him the
trouble of thus denying himself. Grace will
do its own work ; but we must do ours.

Since we have sinned, and are by nature
in a state of spiritual death, our restoration
is, of course, indispensable. We must be
born of the Spirit — washed in the blood of
Christ. But this does not do our work as
probationers. Conversion, though an abso-
lute requisite to our salvation, is entirely
distinct from the great object for which we
were placed upon earth. We need to be
pardoned because we have sinned — to be
lifted up because we have fallen — to be
washed because we have become defiled.
This, however, is a work which God does for
us ; and it does not supersede the univei-sal
command, " Work out your own salvation."
Kenewal in the image of God just brings us
into a condition to do this work advanta-
geously. To pause here, is infallibly to fall

230 THE GREAT QUESTION.

again into a state more deplorable than that
from which grace has saved us. Grace re-
news ns in the divine image ; but godlike
action is the process by which the divine
image is rendered indelible in our natures.
This, inded^d, as we have before observed, is
the very purpose for which God has assigned
to us a part in his own great scheme of benef
icence. He has connected our efforts with
the salvation of the world, that we may
have an exalted sphere of moral action.
He has given us much, and requires of us
much, that we may acquire much. He has
placed us under great responsibilities, that
we may make great attainments. The
present enjoyment which we realize in doing
good — the luxury which attends it — is de-
signed to cheer and encourage us in the per-
formance of that work by which God would
prepare us for the holy delight of heaven.
Holiness is the standard of character which
he has placed before us — holiness not as a
state merely, but as a principle formed by
moral action, and having the fixedness of
habit. It is the work of " grace through
faith" alone to make the heart puie — to
overcome selfishness and drive it from the
heart ; but beneficent effort must be added,
to keep out this dir*? enemy by closing up

THE LIFE TO COME. 231

every avenue against it. Moreover, it is
plain that the beneficence which is essential
to our work of preparation for heaven, is
precisely that which the divine Benefactor
has prescribed. It must be characterized by
religious principle, and by liberality and
system according to the Bible standard.

We are by no means to infer that our
preparation for heaven required that sin and
misery should surround us during our pro-
bation. It is enough for us to know, that,
such being the case, our infinitely wise and
beneficent Creator has made it the occasion
by which we may cultivate the benevolent
afiections, and acquire the principle of obe-
dience to him by supplying the wants and
relieving the woes of our fellow-men, and,
publishing to them all the glad tidings of a
sovereign remedy.

These views will be found to accord per-
fectly with the representations of Scripture,
as a few quotations will show. In its exhort-
ations to alms-giving, and to Christian effort
generally, the spiritual improvement of those
who are addressed is constantly urged. They
are taught that their own salvation is de-
pendent upon their compliance; while, as
others have truthfully observed, very little
is said to excite their natural sympathies.

232 THE GREAT QUESTION.

" Sell that ye have and give alms : provide
for yoitrselms lags which wax not old, a
tnreasure in the heavens which faileth not,
where no thief approacheth, neither moth
corrupteth. For where your treasure is there
will your heart he also^ " Let us not be
weary in well-doing : for in due season we
shall reap if toe faint not.^^ " Charge them
that are rich in this world tliat they be not
high-minded, nor trust in uncertain riches,
but in the living God, who giveth us all
things richly to enjoy; that they do good,
that they be rich in good works, ready to
distribute, willing to communicate ; laying
up in store for themselves a good foundation
against the time to come, that they may lay
hold on eternal life.''''

One more quotation from the sacred
volume in which we are pointed to the
solemn scrutiny of the great day, and we
leave the reader to elect for himself be-
tween Christ and the world^between an
immortal crown and the dreadful doom of
an unfaithful servant, alone in presence of
the Judge Supreme.

"When the Son of man shall come in his
glory, and all the holy angels with him, then
shall he sit upon the throne of his glory :
and before him shall be gathered all nations :

THE LIFE TO COME. 233

and he shall separate them one from another,
as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the
goats : and he shall set the sheep on his right
hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall
the King say unto them on his right hand,
Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the
kingdom prepared for you from the founda-
tion of the world: for I was a hungered,
and ye gave me meat : I was thirsty, and ye
gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye
took me in : naked, and ye clothed me : I
was sick, and ye visited me : I was in prison,
and ye came unto me. Then shall the right-
eous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw
we thee a hungered, and fed thee ? or
thirsty, and gave thee drink ? When saw
we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or
naked, and clothed thee ? Or when saw we
thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee ?
And the King shall answer and say unto
them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as
ye have done it unto one of the least of
these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
Then shall he say also unto them on the left
hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into ever-
lasting fire, prepared for the devil and his
angels : for I was a hungered, and ye gave
me no meat : I was thirsty, and ye gave me
no drink : I was a stranger, and ye took me

234 THE GREAT QUESTION.

not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick,
and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then
shall they also answer him, saying, Lord,
when saw we thee a hungered, or athirst, or
a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and
did not minister unto thee ? Then shall he
answer them, saying, Yerily I say unto you,
Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least
of these, ye did it not to me. And these
shall go away into everlasting punishment:
but the righteous into life eternal."

THE END,

PEOPEETY CONSECEATED,

PROPERTY CONSECRATED ;

OE,

HONORING GOD WITH OUR SUBSTANCE.

AN INQUIRY INTO THE WILL OF GOD IN RELATION TO
PROPERTY, AND AN EXAMINATION OF THE TEM-
PORAL AND SPIRITUAL ADVANTAGES ARISING
FROM ITS RIGHT USE.

ine

By Rev. BENJAMIN ST. JAMES FRY,

OP THE OHIO CONPBEENCB.

PUBLISHED BY CARLTON & PHILLIPS.

TRACT SOCIETY OF THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH,
500 MCLBEUKY-3TREKT.

185G.

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1856, by
CARLTON & PHILLIPS,

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the Southern District
of NeM'-York.

EDITOR^S PREFACE.

The following Treatise is one of the three
Prize Essays on Systematic Beneficence
sent out under the auspices of the Tract So-
ciety of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
We feel great pleasure in submitting it to
the Christian public. It is full of strong
thoughts, clearly and forcibly expressed.
Its appropriate title appeals to the soundest
convictions and purest desires of the true
Christian.

"Property consecrated." What reflect-
ing man does not realize that he has re-
ceived his earthly possessions from God?
He cannot supply one particle of the mate-
rial, or of the mental and muscular energy,
or of the mechanical skill or power upon
which the production of wealth depends.

VI PEEFACB.

These are all gifts from his heavenly Father.
And what honor is conferred upon him in
being constituted an agent in the practical ex-
ercises of divine benevolence ! The goods are
entrusted to him that he may share with God
the holy delights of charity, and the invalua-
ble blessings of Christian enterprise. He is
made a beneficiary that he may be a bene-
factor. How, then, is he to hold the treas-
ures committed to his care ? As exclusively
his own ? As devoted to selfish ends ? E"o.
With pious gratitude it should all be conse-
crated to the service of God, so that every-
thing demanded by the exigencies of the
Church and the wants of humanity should
be deemed sacred to the purposes of Chris-
tian beneficence. Who can describe the re-
sults of "Property consecrated" — the prop-
erty of the whole Church, of each individual
of the Chureh, so set apart to the service of
God as that no unjust proportion of it shall
be used upon self, none whatever squan-
dered in worldly extravagance, and all that
is requisite for the purposes of benevo-
lence shall be ready at a moment's notice?

PREFACE. VU

" Honoring God." To this the good man
is solemnly devoted. He often regrets that
he does not better succeed in accomplishing
it. He asks with deep concern, "How shall
I honor God?" Especially, "How shall I
honor him with my earthly possessions?"
These are too often a snare to him. He finds
himself unduly attached to them. His con-
science not unfrequently rebukes him for
the reluctance he feels in parting with them,
even for the noblest purposes of Christian
benevolence. He mourns over this weak-
ness, if not evidence of remaining deprav-
ity. He would desire, we assume, to be
relieved from these embarrassments — to
learn how he can make all his worldly
employments subserve his spiritual inter-
ests— how he can become happy in giv-
ing all due support to the claims of God —
how he may, so far as his responsibility ex-
tends, remove all temporal embarrassments
from the Church, and secure the greatest
possible efficiency for all her enterprises.
Let him read this little book. It will con-
duct him to God's own method of solving all

VIU PREFACE.

these problems, and at the same time se-
cure the richest returns of true satisfaction,
business prosperity, and spiritual enlarge-
ment.

To many this essay will be a welcome mes-
senger. It will confirm them in principles
already adopted, and strengthen their noble
purposes for the future. It will reach mul-
titudes of others who have been by no
means deficient in liberality, but whose
methods of giving have been without sys-
tem. To such, we trust, it will be a word
in season, which will bring order out of
chaos. Under its genial teachings and per-
suasions their Christian benevolence will
assume a regularity and consistency most
efficient and reliable for the demands of
humanity and religion.

Jesse T. Peck.

Nbw-York, Dec. 20, 1866.

CONTENTS.

OHAP. PAQB
I. — ^INTEODUCTORY — THE IMPORTANCE OF A CAREFUL
INVESTIGATION OF THE DIVINE WILL IN RELA-
TION TO BENEFICENCE 7

n. — THE TEACHINGS OF THE BIBLE CONCERNING THE

ORIGIN AND USE OF PROPERTY 18

III. THE DIVINE PLAN OF BENEFICENCE UNDER THE

MOSAIC DISPENSATION 27

IV. — THE BENEFICENCE OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH... 37

V, THE CHRISTIAN LAW OF SYSTEMATIC BENEFICENCE 46

VI. — THE BENEFITS THAT WOULD FLOW TO THE CHURCH

FROM THE ADOPTION OF THIS RULE 96

Vn. — THE PERSONAL BENEFITS TO BE DERIVED FROM
THE ADOPTION OP THE CHRISTIAN LAW OF

SYSTEMATIC BENEFICENCE 114

CONCLUSION 120

SYSTEMATIC BENEFICENCE.

PROPERTY CONSECRATED.

CHAPTEK I.

mTRODUCTORY THE IMPORTANCE OF A CARE-
FUL INVESTIGATION OF THE DIVINE WILL IN
RELATION TO BENEFICENCE.

Those who have an intelligent conception
of Christianity, or, what is far better, an ex-
perimental knowledge of it, are aware that
it is a new life, consisting in love to God
and man. While God claims our devotion
as his own peculiar right, he also commands
the largest benevolence toward our fellow-
men — a benevolence reaching into all the
manifold activities of life. To inspii-e us to
Hve such a life he has himself given us an
example of it on the grandest scale. We
3ee in the plan of salvation revealed in the
Bible, the munificence of a God. The
Father withholds not his only-begotten Son,
but delivera him up freely for us all.

b SYSTEMATIC BENEFICENCE.

Jesus, who was ricli, becomes poor, that we
through his poverty might be rich. He
went about on the earth a way-faring man,
acquainted with grief, engaged in doing
good; and, as the last and greatest token
of his love, died on Calvary, thereby pur-
phasing an eternal salvation for our guilty
race.

This manifestation of benevolence stands
in startling contrast with the spirit of our
world, which is proud, rebellious unbelief.
Sin does indeed present itself in many
forms, and is called by many names ; but
the ruling spirit in the heart of man is self-
ishness. We cannot escape its presence, for
it meets us in every thoroughfare of life : in
all our social, commercial, and political rela-
tions ; in the young and the old, the moral
and the immoral ; yes, strange as it may
seem, even among those who claim to be
influenced by the noblest and holiest mo-
tives.

While we recognize selfishness as the
great prevailing form of sin, an examina-
tion of the many phases in which selfishness
reveals itself, will compel us to confess that
ccyoetousness — taken in that restricted sense
in which it is used to express the inordinate
desire of obtaining and hoarding property —

INTKODUCTORY. 9

is the most prevalent and dangerous form of
selfishness. Careful observation will assure
us that, in the Christian world at least, tliis
form of selfishness has an alarming univer-
sality. Thousands readily yield to its insid-
ious pretences who are accustomed to look
with amazement upon all other forms of
sin ; and while they despise the enslavement
of others, fail to see the chains by which
they are bound.

The love of property seems to be a native
principle of the mind, existing in some de-
gree of development wherever man is found.
Viewing it in its healthy operation, there is
nothing in it calling for condemnation ; but
when allowed to gain the mastery, it is the
most rapacious and tyrannical of all the
human passions, and has ever called forth
the severest rebuke of the moralist, and the
keenest ridicule of the satirist. It wields a
powerful influence in instilling habits of in-
dustry and economy ; and there are advan-
tages and refinements which seem to depend
upon it for existence. But when it has once
gone beyond the design for which it was
implanted, it crushes with fearful malignity
all the blessings that grew in its path ; it
associates with itself the woi'st of all the
vices, and, from the company following in

10 SYSTEMATIC BENEFICENCE.

its train, proves itself to be the prolific
parent of a thousand schemes of dishonesty
and oppression.

Yet there is probably no form of sin
which is denounced in the word of God more
plainly or frequently than covetousness. The
Old Testament Scriptures are full of warn-
ings and threatenings against it. Our Sav-
iour often refers to this sin when addressing
his apostles or the multitude, and always
jDasses upon it the most severe condemna-
tion. The Apostle Paul makes the broad
assertion, that "the love of money is the
root of all evil," and the observation of
eighteen hundred years attests its truth. He
describes the covetous man as an idolater,
than whom there is no more offensive char-
acter in the sight of God.

If it be asked, Why then the alarming
progress it has made? the answer is. There
is no sin so ensnaring, or more apt to gain
the mastery of the soul. It acquires its com-
manding power by almost imperceptible
advances, carefully administering soothing
opiates to the conscience, and thus quietly
assumes its* supremacy in the heart. Hav-
ing gained this despotic authority, it only
presents such motives for action as avail to
continue the enchantment and thraldom of

INTKODUCTOKY. 11

its victim. It rarely suggests the hoarding
of money, and the acquirement of houses
and lands, for the mere desire of accumula-
tion; much less does it propose the gratifica-
tion of unholy and depraved passions. Its
efforts are made before the character is fixed,
and when the heart is the most readily de-
ceived. Assuming the garb of prudence, it
comes to the young man commencing busi-
ness, and whispers of the necessity of secur-
ing a reasonable competency or independ-
ence; but the principles which it inculcates,
as the necessary means to obtain the desired
end, lead with certain steps to avarice.
When he comes to mature years, and has
acquired all his most sanguine wishes led
him to seek, instead of releasing its hold, a
firmer grasp is obtained under the alleged
propriety of making such a wise provision
for the future as may secure him from the
misfortunes incident to the decline of life.
This provision is made ; and when we expect
the long-closed heart to open to the noble
influences of beneficence, it fastens upon the
purest feelings of his nature, and suggests
the necessity of procuring and setting aside
an abundance for his famil)-, who ma}^ be
soon called upon to contend with the heart-
lessness of the world, without the protection

12 SYSTEMATIC BENEFICENCE.

of his strong arm. Or, if such ties are
wanting, it offers the magnificent but de-
ceptive dehision of hoarding, while life lasts,
to erect a noble foundation of charity to
bless the succeeding generation. Thus the
bold game of deception is carried on ; and
the soul, often unconscious of its folly, yields
to the gilded sophism ; the heart grows
hard and insensible to the pressing claims of
God and humanity, until at last it sinks into
the embrace of death — a death that never
dies !

The perils of which we speak not only
threaten the man of the world, whose ear is
closed to the claims of God and religion, but
demand watchfulness on the part of the
Christian. We do not hazard too much
when we say that covetousness is the great
sin of the Church. It has been brought
about in this manner. That godliness
which is particularly profitable in securing
a place in the kingdom of heaven, has also
a provision for the present life. This is the
basis of that temporal prosperity which is a
marked characteristic of all Christian lands.
The restraints which religion puts upon those
passions and appetites that consume the
means of the wicked man, enable its pos-
sessor to accumulate more property than is

INTEODTJCTORT. 13

actually necessary for his physical and social
wants. It has taught him to be '• diligent in
business," and he has realized that "the
blessing of the Lord maketh rich." Upon
the proper nse of this superfluity the contest
])egins. If the deceitfulness of the heart
and the selfish influences with which he is
surrounded, gain the ascendency, he turns
the blessing of God into a curse. This has
been the sad histor}^ of many "unfaithful
and unprofitable servants." Yet God has
not neglected to warn his servants on this
perilous point in their lives. He says : —

" Beware, lest when thou hast eaten, and
art full, and when thy flocks and herds
are multiplied, and thy silver and thy gold
are multiplied ; then thy heart be lifted
up, and thou forget the Lord thy God, and
thou say in thy heart. My power and the
might of my hand hath gotten me this
wealth."

If you have observed the lives of those
w^ho sustain Church relations, you will at
once perceive the force of the following state-
ment from an eminent minister of Christ.
If in danger, may it convey a timely warn-
ing to your soul ! He says : —

"The love of money has proved the eter-
nal overthrow of more professing Christians
2

14 SYSTEMATIC BENEFICENCE. *

than any other sin, because it is ahnost the
only crime that can be perpetrated, and yet
anything like a decent profession of religion
maintained."

If what we have written is founded in
truth, it will follow that one of the pressing
wants of the world and the Church, is £.\
remedy for covetousness. So far in the his
tory of the world, no remed}^ provided by
the highest wisdom of man, has gone further
than an attempt to correct what might be
called its excesses, l^or is it probable that
human effort can go a step beyond this.
But can it be thought, by any intelligent
Christian, that God has neglected to provide
in his word a course of action or practice
which will fully counteract its evil influences,
and correct the wanderings of man when he
has forsaken the path of righteousness?
"Why, then, is there not a well-defined prin-
ciple and practice of beneficence taught in
the Church — such a practice as would not
only be a bulwark for the personal safety
of its members, but make the progress of
Christianity a triumphal march among the
powers of the earth ? Let the question be
answered in the eloquent words of the author
of Mammon : —
■ " In the early age of the Christian Church,

INTKODUCTORY. 15

the heavenly art of embalming property and
making it immortal, was not only known but
practiced; but, like the jDrocess of another
embalming, it has now, for ages, been prac-
tically lost, j^ot that its principles have
been unknown : these have always presented
themselves on the page of truth in lines of
living light. But, though benevolence has
never been unknown as a theory, the per-
verting influence of a worldly spirit has been
rendering it more and more impracticable
as an art. So that now, when the obvious
application of its principles is point'ed out,
and the necessity of carijying these princi-
ples into practice is daily becoming more
urgent, we begin to be aware of the vast
distance' to which the Church has been
drifted from the course of its duty by the
current of the world, and how diflicult it
wnll be to effect a return."

God is stirring up the Church to a sense
of its delinquency on this important subject ;
and we are sanguine in the expectation that
the day is not far distant, when the divine
plan of systematic beneficence will become
a living power in the Church of Clirist.
The strongholds of Satan trembled to the
foundations, when the Church, after a sleep
of a thousand years, started again in its

16 SYSTEMATIC BENEFICIiNCE.

missionary operations. It appears now, to
many far-seeing watchmen on the walls of
Zion, that it needs bnt the revival of this
companion spirit, and the kingdoms of this
world will speedily become the kingdoms of
onr Lord and Saviour. And, as this opinion
does not come from a class of enthusiasts,
but from sober, earnest-hearted laborers in
the great work of salvation, it claims our
pra^^erful attention. It cannot be otherwise
than of interest to those who are striving to
" escape the corruption that is in the world
throng^ lust," and who desire to be influ-
enced by the mind that was in their blessed
Master. Even if not intent, upon seeking
the salvation of your soul, the attention
that is bestowed upon it by an awakening
Church ought to engage your thoughts long
enough to make it a matter of careful con-
sideration.

We are convinced that no manner of in-
vestigation is more important and determin-
ate than to turn at once to God's revealed
will, and seek, in its luminous pages, the
principle and rules by which we may "honor
God with our substance." We shall not fail
to arrive at some definite conclusion, recom-
mending itself to our conscience and reason,
that will be not only for the glory of God,

INTRODUCTOKY. 17

but for our personal happiness and advance-
ment in the divine life. Let us go, then,
*' to tlie law, and to the testimony ; if we
speak not according to this word, it is be-
cause there is no light in us."

u

SYSTEMATIC BENEFICENCE.

CHAPTEK n.

THE TEACHINGS OF THE BIBLE CONCEKNINa THE
OKIGIN AND USE OF PKOPEKTY.

We propose now to inquire into the plain
teaching of the Bible in relation to the ori-
gin and right use of property. The exami-
tion, of necessity, will be somewhat limited,
but sufficient to aid us in forming a right
judgment.

1. God is the source of all property. The
fact of creation gives the Creator an original
and supreme right over all created things,
and his preservation of them confirms his
title. Therefore the farthest reach of man's
power cannot go beyond the collection and
profitable employment of God's proj)erty.
"Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and the
power, and the glory, and the victory, and
the majesty: for all that is in the heaven
and in the earth is thine." "Every beast
of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon
a thousand hills. I know all the fowls of
the mountains : and the wild beasts of the
field are mine .... for the world is mine
and the fullness thereof." "The silver is

TEACHINGS OF THE BIBLE. 19

mine, and the gold is mine, saith the Lord
of hosts."

2. The possession of property is the gift of
God. " But thou shalt remember the Lord
thj God : for it is he that giveth thee power
to get wealth." " If ye shall hearken dili-
gently unto my commandments which I com-
mand you this day, to love the Lord your
God, and to serve him with all your heart
and with all your soul, that I will give you
the rain of your land in his due season, the
first rain and the latter rain, that thou mayest
gather in thy corn, and thy wine, and thine
oil. And I will send grass in thy fields for
thy cattle, that thou mayest eat and be full."
" The Lord maketh poor, and maketh rich."
" Both riches and honor come of thee."
"The generation of the upright shall be
blessed. Wealth and riches shall be in his
house." " By humility and the fear of the
Lord are riches, and honor, and life." E^or
should we forget that the Bible presents
many instances of good men, who were rich
because of the special blessing of God. Of
this class were Abraham, Isaac, Jacob,
David, and Solomon.

3. Property is not essential to present or
future happiness., hut is often a source of
care and trouhle. "A good name is rather

20 SYSTEMATIC BENEFICENCE.

to be chosen than great riches, and loving
favor rather than silver and gold." "I had
great possessions of great and small cattle
above all that were in Jernsalem before me ;
I gathered me also silver and gold, and the
peculiar treasure of kings and of the prov-
inces. . . . Then I looked on all the works
that my hands had wrought, and on the
labor that I had labored to do : and behold,
all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and
there was no profit under the sun." " There
is a sore evil which I have seen under the
sun, namely, riches kept for the owners
thereof to their hurt."

]^ot only may we point to thousands of
God's children who have rejoicingly passed
their days in the vale of poverty, but we
will find that when they might have pos-
sessed wealth they chose other blessings.
Solomon asked wisdom in preference to
riches, and God gave him both, because he
had chosen wisely. Agur prayed, "Give
me neither poverty nor riches." '^Be not
afraid when one is made rich, when the
glory of his house is increased ; for when
he dieth he shall carry nothing away."
" Lo, this is the man that made not God his
strength, but trusted in the abundance of his
riches." "Behold, these are the ungodly,

TEACHINGS OF THE BIBLE. 21

who prosper in the world ; they increase in
riches .... Surely thou didst set them in
slippery places: thou castedst them down
into destruction." " "Wilt thou set thine eyes
upon tliat which is not ? for riches certainly
make themselves wings ; they fly away as
an eagle toward heaven." The ground of
the rich man, in the parable, brought forth
plentifully ; but when he thought to say to
his soul, " Thou hast much goods laid up for
many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and
be merry," God said unto him, "Thou fool,
this night thy soul shall be required of thee :
then whose shall those things be which thou
hast provided ? " " Charge them that are
rich in this world, that they be not high-
minded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but
in the living God, who giveth us richly all
things to enjoy."

4. The possession of property has a tend-
ency to alienate the heart from God. "The
care of this world, and the deceitfulness of
riches, choke the word, and he becometh
unfruitful." Jesus said to the young man
inquiring," What good thing shall I do that
I may have eternal life ? .... If thou wilt
be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and
give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure
in heaven: and come and follow me. But

2SZ SYSTEMATIC BENEFICENCE.

when the young man heard that saying, he
went away sorrowful : for he had great pos-
sessions. Then said Jesus unto his disciples,
Yerily, I say unto you, That a rich man
shall hardly enter into the kingdom of
heaven." '' They that will be rich fall into
temptation, and a snare, and into many
foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men
in destruction and perdition. For the love
of money is the root of all evil: which while
some coveted after, the}^ have erred from
the faith, and pierced themselves through
with many sorrows."

5. Riches do not recommend the possessor
to the fctvor of God. " God accepteth not
the persons of princes, nor regardeth the rich
more tlian the poor." "The rich and poor
meet together : the Lord is the maker of
them all." "Their silver and their gold
shall not be able to deliver them in the day
of the wrath of the Lord." Many that were
rich cast much money into the treasmy
of the temple. "And there came a certain
poor widow, and she threw in two mites,
which make a farthing. Jesus called unto
him his disciples, and saith unto them,
Yerily, I say unto you. That this poor widow
hath cast more in, than all they which have
cast into the treasurv. For all thev did cast

TEACHINGS OF THE BIBLE. 23

in of their abundance : but she of her want
did cast in all that she had, even all her
living." This same truth is taught us in the
many examples in which God has '* chosen
the poor of this world." Moses was the son
of a poor Levite ; Gideon was a thresher ;
David was a shepherd ; Amos was a herds-
man ; and the apostles chosen by the Saviour
were poor and unlearned.

6. The araplest recompense is pi'omised to
liberality. "If thou draw out thy soul to
the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul ;
then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy
darkness be as the noonday. And the Lord
shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy
soul in drought, and make fat thy bones :
and thou shalt be like a watered garden,
and like a spring of water, whose waters fail
not." " He that hath pity upon the poor,
lendeth unto the Lord; and that which he
hath given will he pay him again." "He
that giveth to the poor shall not lack."
" Cast thy bread upon the waters ; for thou
shalt find it after many days." " Whosoever
shall give to drink unto one of these little
ones a cup of cold water only, in the name
of a disciple, verily, I say unto you. He shall
in no wise lose his reward." " Give, and it
shall be given unto you; good measure.

24 SYSTEMATIC BENEFICENCE.

pressed down, and shaken together, and
running over, shall men give into your
bosom." " Charge them that are rich in
this world, . . . that they be rich in good
works, ready to distribute, willing to com-
municate ; laying up in store for themselves
a good foundation against the time to come,
that they may lay hold on eternal life."
"Honor the Lord with thy substance, and
with the first-fruits of all thine increase : so
shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and
thy presses shall burst out with new wine."
7. God denounces covetousness in tli6
strongest terms. " For the wicked boasteth
of his heart's desire, and blesseth the covet-
ous, whom the Lord abhorreth." " For the
iniquity of his covetousness was I wroth, and
smote him." "They covet fields, and take
them by violence ; and houses, and take
them away : so they oppress a man and his
house, even a man and his heritage. There-
fore thus saith the Lord ; Behold, against this
family do I devise an evil, from which ye
shall not remove your necks."^ " Kor thieves,
nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor
extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of
God." "For this ye know, that no ... .
covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any
inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of

TEACHINGS OF THE BIBLE. 25

God." ISTor is the Bible wanting in examples
of God's punishment of covetous persons.
Balaam, Gehazi, and Judas stand as eternal
way-marks, indicating how great is God's
wrath against covetousness.

The passages which we have quoted are
but a few among the many which might be
brought to bear upon the subject in hand;
yet sufficient, if we let them have proper
weight in our hearts, to lead us to an under-
standing of the fundamental principles of
beneficence; and they will prepare our
minds for further investigation. They con-
tain instruction for all time, and for all peo-
ple ; and are not invalidated by the abroga
tion of one dispensation, and the bringing in
of another.

Taking these passages of Scripture, and
combining them into a harmonious whole,
what do they teach in relation to the posses-
sion and use of property ? Can we not safely
deduce from them the following proposi-
tions ? —

1. All property has its origin in the Creator ;
and man, when he comes lawfully into the
possession of it, receives it as a gift from God.

2. The possession of property is not neces-
sary for temporal liappiness, nor to secure
the favor of God in the life to come.

26 SYSTEMATIC BENEFICENCE

3. The only lawful use of property is to
employ it in beneficence, or at least so
much of it as is not necessary for our tempo-
ral wants.

4. The only safe way to increase property
is to employ it as God commands.

The thought may arise in your mind that
these principles formed no part of your early
religions instructions, nor are they practiced
by those among whom you worship as a
Christian. But let not such thoughts ob-
struct the truth, as this investigation may
present it. We are not inquiring what is
the teaching and practice of the Church, nor
of our best commercial circles ; but are seek-
ing for light from God's word to guide us to
a right use of the property he has in his
goodness placed in our hands. In govern-
ments, judicious reforms are often carried
out by a strict examination and construc-
tion of the constitution under which they
act: religious institutions may profit by a
like course, if pursued in honesty.

TINDER THE MOSAIC DISPENSATION. 27

OHAPTEK III.

THE DIVINE PLAN OF BENEFICENCE UNDER THE
MOSAIC DISPENSATION.

The passages of Scripture set forth in the
previous chapter indicate the general prin-
ciples which should guide us in the use of
property, but do not command the practice
of beneficence as a system. But may we
not expect, a priori^ in the selection of a
people to whom God designed a particular
communication, to find revealed a system of
beneficence as an integral part of the laws
by wliich they were to be governed. This
will appear the more probable when we con-
sider that the selection of a people was not
only designed to extend a knowledge of God,
but to present its members " perfect, thor-
oughly furnished unto all good works."

The giving of property as a religious duty,
in accordance with an express command of
God, in which was also indicated the charac-
ter of the gift, seems to date back to the sacri-
fices of the first family. As we pass down
the sacred history, we find Abraham giving
tithes to Melchizedek, priest of the most high

28 SYSTEMATIC BENEFICENCE

God, as a token of bis gratitude to God for a
special benefit. Wbat strikes us as peculiar
in tbis transaction is, tbat Abrabam gave
one-tentb of tbe spoils, Heb. vii, 4, and in
sucb a manner as sbows it to bave been the
custom of the age. "We also find Jacob, in
tbe vow which he made at Bethel, covenant-
insr with God to o'ive him one-tenth of all
his prosperity. There can be scarcely a
doubt in the mind of the intelligent reader
that a system of beneficence was in opera-
tion long before the giving of the Law upon
Sinai. It did not rest upon some shadowy
obligation, but was recognized as a high and
holy duty — broad in principle, and efficient
in practice.

What ^yroportion of 'properttj did God, in
the organization of the Jewish Church, com-
mand to le set aside for the purpose of he-
neficence f

The Jewish people were commanded to
appropriate the tenth part of the produce of
their fields for the maintenance of the Le-
vites. Num. xviii, 21. This tithe was paid
not only from the vegetable products of the
land, but it included also their goats, sheep,
and horned cattle. Lev. xxvii, 32. Of the
nine parts that remained after the tithes
were paid to the Levites, thoy ?et aside an-

UNDER THE MOSAIC DISPENSATION. 29

other tenth part, which was applied toward
celebrating certain feasts in the temple at
Jerusalem. Deut. xiv, 22, 23. Every third
year this tithe was retained at home, instead
of being sent to the temple as a portion for
the poor. Deut. xiv, 28. Besides this they
were to abstain from all the produce of
newly-planted fruit-trees for the first three
years, it being accounted uncircumcised or
unholy : the produce of tlie fourth year was
declared holy, and was to be dedicated to
the Lord. Lev. xix, 23. These fruits of the
fourth year were sent to the temple, or
their equivalent was paid in money to
the priests. They also offered to God every
year " the first of all the fruits of the
year."

This contribution, large as it was, was
chiefly designed for the temple service. An
ample provision was made for the poor from
other sources. The people were commanded,
when they reaped, to leave untouched the
corners of the fields ; nor were they permit-
ted to gather the gleanings of the harvest of
any kind. Lev. xix, 9, 10. In the later days
of the nation, to prevent fraud, it was deter-
mined to leave the sixtieth part of the land
as a proper proportion for the poor. Every
seventh year the land kept a Sabbath, in
3

30 SYSTEMATIC BENEFICENCE

which they did not sow; and whatever grew
in the fields this year was the common
property of all — the servant as well as the
master. Exod. xxiii, 10, 11. In this seventh
year all debts were remitted; Dent. xv,l, 2;
the slaves of the nation were also liberated.
Exod. xxi, 2. All this was a special pro-
vision made for the poor ; and it is further
enjoined npon them when they made a feast
to remember the poor.

But this was not all. We are to add to
it the ransom that was paid for the first-
born male of every family and of the
flocks ; the half-shekels for the sanctuary ;
the three journeys each year to Jerusalem
to celebrate the great feasts, where " no one
was to appear before the Lord empty."
Even this enumeration does not take in all
the contributions that the Jewish system of
beneficence required.

We have no doubt many would be led to
presume that voluntary contributions would
find no place under such a comprehensive
and exacting system. A reference to their
history proves the contrary, and establishes
a fact, which we wish kept in mind, that
such a system had its highest valuation in
tlie cultivation of a beneficent spirit fully
equal to any demand that circumstances

UNDER THE MOSAIC DISPENSATION. 31

might lay upon it. Some of these voluntary
contributions are worthy our attention.

When tlie Tabernacle was to be built in
the wilderness, "The Lord spake unto Moses,
saying, Speak unto the children of Israel,
that they bring me an offering : of every
man that giveth it willingly with his heart
ye shall take my offering." Ko sooner was
the opportunity given than "they came,
both men and women, as many as were
willing-hearted, and brought bracelets, and
ear-rings, and rings, and tablets, all jewels
of gold ; and every man that offered, offered
an offering of gold unto the Lord." IS^ot
only did the males — heads of families — con-
tribute, but we are told that "all the wo-
men that were wise-hearted did spin with
their hands, and brought that which they
had spun, both of blue, and of purple, and
of scarlet, and of fine linen." Indeed, such
a holy ardor incited them to give largely
that they had need of restraint. Those who
had charge of the work said to Moses, "The
people bring much more than enough for
the service of the work which the Lord
commanded to make." AYhen the Taberna-
cle was dedicated to the service of the Lord
the same liberal spirit w^as manifested.
These contributions, it should be remem-

dZ SYSTE^IATIC BEXE^CENCE

bered, came from a nation that numbered
but little more than half a million of males
over twenty years of age, encamped in a
territory not their own, and but lately es-
caped from bondage.

The building and dedication of the temple
was a much more liberal display of benefi-
cence. David proposed building it, but God
gave the coveted honor to his illustrious
son. This, however, did not abate his in-
terest in the great work. In the midst of
the most troublous times, he commenced to
gather together the material, with a zeal
and munificence that strikes us with aston-
ishment. " I have prepared for the house
of the Lord," he says to Solomon, "a hun-
dred thousand talents of gold, and a thou-
sand thousand talents of silver : and of brass
and iron without weight, for it is in abund-
ance; timber also and stone have I pre-
pared ; and thou mayest add thereto." Sol-
omon continued the "work in the same spirit
of liberality. One hundred and fifty thou-
sand men were engaged in the rougher pari
of the labor; the wisest artisans of neigh-
boring nations were employed on the finei
work. He seems not to have used any of
the treasure which his father prepared in its
construction, but placed it as a permanent

UNDER THE MOSAIC DISPENSATION. 33

treasure in the coffers of the temple. At last
the world-renowned structure was completed,
at a cost which has been estimated at not
less than three thousand millions of dollars.
The charities of our day dwindle into insig-
nificance when compared to it. The benefi-
cence manifested at the dedication was on
the same liberal scale. Kemember, this was
not a tax laid upon the people, given grudg-
ingly at first, and then heralded by the giv-
ers as a magnanimous act. The record of
the transaction places the principles by
which they were actuated beyond all doubt.
The historian says : " Then the people re-
joiced, for that they offered wilHngly ; be-
cause with perfect heart they oftered will-
ingly to the Lord." " David said. But who
am I, and what is my people, that we should
be able to offer so willingly after this sort ?
for all things come of thee, and of thine own
have we given theeP

It will be seen at a glance, that those who
speak of the beneficence of the Jews as a
contribution of one-tenth of their annual
prosperity, commit a great error. It has been
estimated that not less than one-third of their
annual income was given to the service of
the temple, tlie instruction of the people by
the Levites, and for the maintenance of the

34 SYSTEMATIC BENEFICENCE

poor. Some writers have not hesitated to
say, that nearly if not quite one- half of the
income was given away.

It is not intended to assert that the institu-
tions of the Mosaic dispensation are binding
on us as a Christian people. We ought to
be influenced by a larger spirit. The law,
however, " was our schoolmaster to bring us
to Christ;" and we may at least expect to
find in it the jyrinci^les to guide us in our
beneficence.

But what was the design of this grand
system of beneficence ? ITot to entail poverty
upon the nation, as the best condition for a
people who would serve God ; for they were
promised prosperity in proportion as they
gave obedience to these commands ; and w^e
know there was less pauperism in Judea
than in any other nation in their day. N^ot
that there was an absolute necessity for this
expensive temple service, as an instrument
in the salvation of souls ; for the same obj ect
is equally well provided for under the Chris-
tian dispensation, with greater simplicity and
with less expense. Not that God is actually
dependent upon those who have wealth for
the support of his poor and unfortunate chil-
dren; for he could send them manna and
quails, as he did to a whole nation in their

UNDEK THE MOSAIC DISPENSATION. 35

journey from Egypt, or provide for them
in a thousand other ways unknown to us.

If we would rightly understand the mean-
ing of this system, we must view it from a
proper position. We must see in it our
heavenly Father training a nation for some
grand object. Can we not at once see that
the chief design was to inculcate important
principles ? How then shall we understand
this plan of beneficence ? The following prop-
ositions seem to us to be a summary of its
teachings: —

1. It was designed to teach his chosen
people that he was the source of all property ;
that by placing them in possession of it for
4 limited time, he did not waive his claim,
6ut constituted them his stewards to dispose
of it both for his glory and the benefit of the
holder. This appears to be the central prin-
ciple, so plainly set forth that a child may
comprehend it.

2. To give practical efficiency to this prin-
ciple, it was incorporated into a system,
comprehensive but simple, and enforced by
the highest authority.

3. It bound the services of the sanctuary,
and benevolence to our fellow-men, by an
indissoluble bond ; for it placed the temple
service — including the maintenance of the

36 SYSTEMATIC BENEFICENCE

priests, and a sufficient provision for the
poor — under equal obligation, and provided
for them in the same system.

4. It brought the whole secular life of the
nation under the influences of religion, pro-
ducing the sanctification of the common
actions of life.

The sjyecific system which was provided
for the Jewish Church has passed away, but
lis principles remain. This will become the
more apparent, when we consider that all
the objects for which it was provided still
exist.

m THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 37

CHAPTER lY.

THE BENEFICENCE OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH.

In turning to the New Testament Scriptures
to investigate the beneficent operations of
the Christian Church, we may be allowed a
few remarks which are deemed important,
as we design proceeding intelligently and in
the right spirit.

The economy which God gave to the
Jews was designed for a single nation, and
that nation not a large one. It is to be
looked upon as preparing a people for
some great work, not as a system compe-
tent to perform the work for which the
preparation was made. But the Chris-
tian dispensation is final, designed to be
world-wide, and for all coming time. The
well-known command was, ''Go ye therefore
and teach all nations — and lo, I am with you
alway, even unto the end of tlie world."
May we not expect, therefore, to find in this
new dispensation a system of beneficence,
which, while it is based upon the comprehen-
sive princi pies already elucidated, will provide
for a like liberal, world-wide policy ? We see

BS SYSTEMATIC BENEFICENCE

God enlarging and simplifying the means of
salvation ; may we not expect to see the
system of beneficence enlarged and simplified
on a corresponding scale ? It must at least be
equal to the grand design of the world's
conversion. While the Jewish system was
of necessity conservative, it is equally neces-
sary that the Christian system should be
aggressive.

The history of the Christian Church in its
earliest days is found in the Acts of the
Apostles. This book is what it purports to
be, a record of the most conspicuous acts
of the Gospel company. It is not after the
manner of many of our modern Church his-
tories, an elaborate theory of Christianity
supposed, and then the actions of these early
Christians construed so as to support the
theory. We are, therefore, to seek the prin-
ciples by which they were guided, by an ex-
amination of the facts presented to us. More
than this may be premised. In examining
the record of the Christian Church, as the
history of a new institution, wx may not
expect to find the details of a well-defined
system, but to see the principles of the
founder embodied in a simple, comprehen-
sive manner, as time and circumstances
hrum about the necessitv for their exercise.

IN THE CHKISTIAN CHURCH. 39

Not only will their practice be in direct ac-
cordance with the Master's principles, but
also imbued with the spirit of his living ex-
ample. We are too much accustomed to
consider everything connected with the
primitive Christians as supernatural, and by
this erroneous judgment we strive to free
ourselves from the suggestions and obliga-
tions implied in their brilliant example.
It was, indeed, a new and wondrous life that
influenced them, but nothing more than the
divine life. Such a life every one who has
taken the name of Christ should possess, and
in equal fullness.

We may turn now to the history of the
primitive Church. We find the little com-
pany assembled at Jerusalem, in obedience
to the Saviour's command, w^aiting for the
promise of the Father, the descent of the
Holy Ghost. It comes like the sound of
a rushing mighty wind, and fills the house.
Appearing on their heads as cloven tongues
of fire, it penetrates their hearts, and they
begin to speak with tongues as the Spirit
gives them utterance. The result of this out-
pouring of the Spirit is the conversion of
about three thousand souls, who were united
by this regeneration to the company of the
apostles. " All that believed were together.

4:0 SYSTEMATIC BENEFICENCE

and had all things common ; and sold their
possessions and goods, and parted them to
all men, as every man had need." This
grand demonstration of beneficence is again
spoken of in the fourth chapter, and the
manner of it is noted in more specific
detail. " E"either was there any among
them that lacked ; for as many as were pos-
sessors of lands or houses sold them, and
brought the prices of the things that were
sold, and laid them down at the apostles'
feet ; and distribution was made to every
man as he had need."

These passages of Scripture, greatly to the
injury of the Church, have been wrested
from their true meaning, to sustain the
erratic notion of a community system. A
careful examination of the occurrences, by
the aid of the customs peculiar to that age,
will lead us to an entirely different con-'
elusion.

Inequality of wealth is not altogether an
arbitrary distinction, designed to be de-
stroyed by Christianity. It is no doubt
peculiar to a sinful world ; and is a wise
and benevolent appointment of God, suited
to our present condition, and designed to
give scope to the cultivation of certain
Christian virtues. Under the Jewish econ-

m^THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 41

omy, God enforces the unceasing obligation
of his command to provide for the poor
by the assertion, "The poor shall never
cease out of the land." Christ assured his
disciples, " Ye have the poor always with
you." ]^ow, because the community sys-
tem is discarded by the wisest and best
men, has proven absurd in practice, and is
opposed to the general teachings of Scrip-
ture, many have taken a prejudiced view" of
this first manifestation of beneficence by the
Church. But a careful examination will
certainly remove all apparent grounds for
skeptical criticism. .

The persons converted on this memorable
occasion were principally those who had
come from a distance to keep the feast of
the Passover. There is no good reason to
suppose they were the needy and unfortu-
nate ; much less were they beggars, or the
refuse of the population. At all the great
religious feasts of the Jews, those who came
from a distance brought sufiicient provision
for the journey and the short time they
expected to remain, but nothing beyond
this. The conversion of three thousand of
these strangers cast them out of the society
of the Jews and into the company of the
disciples. There is no doubt this remarka-

42 SYSTEMATIC BENKFIOI'NCE

ble oiitponring of the Spirit, resulting in
their conversion, detained them longer from
their homes than they had anticipated, and
left them without immediate means of sup-
port. God had a design in their detention.
They were receiving instruction in the truths
of the Gospel, that they might bear with
them to their homes a correct knowledge of
the plan of salvation. To meet this neces-
sity, the disciples sold such portions of their
possessions as w^ere sufficient to supply the
present need of every man.

That it was a free-will offering, according
to the ability and liberality of the individual
making it, and not a surrender of all they
had, is evident ; for one is mentioned who
sold all his land, another who sold a part
only. The words of Peter to Ananias prove
this to be the proper interpretation : " Whilst
it remained, was it not thine own ? and after
it was sold, was it not in thine own power?"
The sin of Ananias was not that he offered
only a part of the price of his possessions,
but that he lied unto God ; pretending that
the money he offered the apostle was the
whole avails of his land, when it was only a
l^art.

It appears, then, that this early act of benef-
icence on the part of the Christian Church,

m THE CHRISTIAN CIIUKCH. 43

which IS so worthy of remembrance as hon-
orable in them and an example to os, was a
consecration of their property to the service
of religion ; and like all healthy, heaven-di-
rected charity, it was sufficiently expansive
to meet the necessities of the occasion which
called it forth. Not long after, deacons
were appointed, whose principal duty was
to distribute the bounty of the Church daily
among the poor.

Althougli no particular account of the
system which gave stability and efficiency
to their beneficence is found in the record,
yet we are not to conclude that they were
without system. They brought, and " laid
it at the apostles' feet;" and until the ap-
pointment of deacons it seems the apostles
attended to the distribution. Their benefi-
cence was no fitful feeling, but a settled
principle. The Apostle James makes it a
distinguishing mark of the Christian reli-
gion. " Pure religion and undefiled before
God and the Father, is this, To visit the
fatherless and widows in their affliction,
and to keep himself unspotted from the
world." John makes it no less a test of re-
ligion ; for he says, " But whoso hath this
world's goods, and seeth his brother hath
need, and shutteth up his bowels of com-

4:4 SYSTEMATIC BENEFICENCE

passion from him, how dwelleth the love of
God in him?"

It may be a matter of surprise to some
that we have not found a specific rule on
this important featm*e of an active Chris-
tianity among the earliest notices of the
Chnrch. A little reflection, however, will
convince ns that we are not to expect any
such announcement of a system in the Church
at Jerusalem. We have already shown that
systematic beneficence is not a new doctrine,
peculiar to Christianity. Had it been anew
doctrine, there would be some occasion for
surprise at the silence of the historian. We
should look for such a modification of the
old Jewish system, as would be necessary
to conform it to the invigorating spirit of
the Christian dispensation. These changes
would be easily made, and attract but little
attention. We must not fail to bear in mind
that the history of the Church contained in
the Acts of the Apostles was not so much
designed to convey a knowledge of the form
and discipline of the Church, as the progress
it made in extending the kingdom of Christ.
But when new Churches were organized, in
w^hich the converts had been altogether or
principally idolaters, and unacquainted with
the Jewish economy, we may suppose that

IN THE CHRISTIAN CHTJECH. 45

specific direction would be given to tliem con-
cerning beneficence, when tlie occasion re-
quired it, no less than on other duties which
their former religion had not inculcated.
Therefore, in seeking such a rule, we may
turn with greater probability of success to
the epistles written to the Churches which
had been organized beyond the immediate
range of Jewish influence.

The search is a short one, for, in the first
epistle to the Corinthian Church, St. Paul,
giving directions concerning a collection for
the impoverished disciples at Jerusalem,
makes the following order : —

"]S^ow concerning the collection for the
saints, as I have given order to the Churches
of Galatia, even so do ye. Upon the first
day of the week let every one of you lay by
him in store, as God hath prospered him,
that there be no gatherings when I come."

This, we believe, is the law of Systematic
Beneficence, to which all Christians should
conform.

46 SYSTEMATIC BENEFICENCE.

CHAPTER Y.

THE CHRISTIAN LAW OF SYSTEMATIC BENEFI-
CENCE.

The position, then, which we propose to oc-
cupy, is, that the Apostle Paul, writing to
the Church at Corinth, under the direct
guidance of the Holy Spirit, teaches the
Christian Law of Systematic Beneficence.
We will quote again this important pas-

"ISTow concerning the collection for the
saints, as I have given order to the Churches
of Galatia, even so do ye. Upon the fii-st
day of the week let every one of you lay
by him in store, as God hath prospered
him, that there be no gatherings when I
come."

This system, commanded by St. Paul, was
modeled upon a well-known custom of the
Jewish Church in its later days. One of
their plans of making provision for the poor
was to make a collection on the Sabbath
day. A purse was provided in every syna-
gogue to receive these weekly contributions,
which was called " The purse of the Alms."

THE CHRISTIAN LAW OF BENEFICENCE. 47

The modifications of the apostle consisted
in changing the time of contribution from
the Sabbath day to the Lord's day, and de-
termining the amount of the contribution to
be in proportion as God had prospered the
giver. The first modification was necessary
for the perpetuation of the system ; the
second, essential to its highest purpose ; for
the system was not only designed to meet
the obligations of the Church in a pecuniary
point of view, but also to discipline the re-
ligious aifections, leading to higher attain-
ments in the divine life.

It is ad^^isable to note in this place, that
the system is in the highest degree manda-
tory. It is a command^ not an exlim'tation.
If we are able to show the great advantages
of such a system, both to the Church and
yourself, you may be induced to adopt it ;
but it cannot have that influence on your
heart and life that is desirable, without you
see in it a positive command. You will
not even regard it in a proper manner with-
out you have a thorough conviction that it
is your duty. The command is as specific
as that to preach the Gospel, and of no less
binding obligation. IS'o one will assert that
it does not rest upon as sure a foundation as
the change of the Sabbath from the last to

48 SYSTEMATIC BENEFICENCE.

the first day of the week. St. Paul was
always careful in his epistles to distinguish
between the teachings of the Spirit and the
suggestions of his own mind. This is not
mentioned as the best system that the apos-
tle could propose ; but he says, " as I have
given order to the Churches of Galatia, ever
so do ye." If you are inclined to answer
that such a system has not been generallj'
practiced in the Church for centuries, instead
of invalidating the command you but prove
how fearfully the Church of the living God
" has been blinded by the god of this world,"
and insensibly seduced from the practice of
that period which is appealed to by all
Christians as the brightest example of a
pure, active Christianity. The command to
preach the Gospel to every creature was
neglected for near a thousand years. But
does any intelligent Christian argue from
this negligence that the command of the
Saviour was abrogated ? It will be the
highest wisdom in us to confess our igno-
rance and delinquencies with proper humili-
ation, and return to the " old paths."

We also affirm that it was designed as a
general rule. This will oppose the idea
which might arise in the minds of some,
that it was for the Church at Corinth alone,

THE CHRISTIAN LAW OF BENEFICENCE. 49

or for a few Cliurches in that immediate
vicinity. There is evidence in the passage
itself to refute such an interpretation of the
rule. "As I have given order to the
Churches of Galatia, even so do ye." The
same order was given to all the Churches of
Achaia, of which i^rovince Corinth was the
capital. So also was it given to the Churches
in Macedonia, although they were in " deep
poverty;" and they returned a noble re-
sponse. We have reason to believe that the
command was received and obeyed by all
the Churches with whom the apostle had
any intercourse. The epistle is directed not
alone to the Corinthians, but " to all that in
eveiy place call upon the name of Jesus
Christ P There are, in this same epistle, im-
portant rules relating to Church discipline,'
and precepts teaching purity of life, that
were written to meet the peculiar state of
affairs then existing at Corinth : does any
one doubt that they were intended for the
Church in all places, and for ail coming
time ? The pi-inciples of interpretation that
would confine the application of this rule to
the Corinthians alone, would compel us to
lay aside all the epistles. Yet we have
heard this objection urged against it time
and again. We must allow tliat God, by

50 SYSTEMATIC BENEFICENCE.

his spirit of inspiration, speaks to the
whole body of Christians through the epis-
tles addressed to local Churches, and for
all ages, or we have no "sufficient rule
either for our faith or practice."

Tlieprinciple which was to influence them
in their beneficence, although not specifically
set forth by the inspired writer, is of the
greatest importance to a clear understanding
of the rule, and actually necessary to produce
the two-fold benefit intended. The imme-
diate design of the contribution was to pro-
vide for the wants of the poor saints at Jerusa-
lem. A theme was here ofi:ered to the apostle
that would afford the amplest scope for his
unrivalled powers as a speaker. From the
Church at Jerusalem had proceeded the
great work of the world's conversion, of
which the Corinthians had been the happy
recipients; and therefore they might, with
propriety, have been considered as specially
indebted to these poor saints. They who now
were in need of charity, had at one time dis-
tributed liberally of their abundance, supply-
ing the necessities of the poor ; but passing
a few years in the midst of severe persecu-
tions for the sake of the truth had stripped
them of their worldly means, and they were
in poverty. Can any one doubt that the

THE CHRISTIAN LAW OF BENEFICENCE. 51

presence of the "ai:)Ostle to the Gentiles,"
who had been the honored instrument in the
establishment of the Church at Corinth, ex-
ercising that wonderful gift of eloquence
which pierced the hardened conscience of
the guilty Felix, would have produced a
powerful impression? — can any one doubt
his success in procuring a contribution fully
equal to their ability had he presented them
a glowing statement of the necessities of
their brethren — their persecutions, and the
manner in which they had borne the spoiling
of their goods? Like their poor neighbors
of Macedonia, they could have been brought
to give beyond their ability. But he passes
by these topics, which form the staple of
appeals in our days, and urges his claim
through the holiest feelings of their renewed
nature. " Ye know the grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet
for your sakes he became poor, that ye
through his poverty might be rich."

He would have them consider how greatly
they were indebted to a Saviour's love. He
would have them remember that Jesus had
laid aside the glory which he had with the
Father, and became subject to the sorrows
and poverty of earth until he had not where
to lay his head, that they might become

62 SYSTEMATIC BENEFICENCE.

heirs of God ; he would have them go and
gaze upon the agony of Gethsemane, the
terror of the cross, and then give for the
sake of such a Saviour. For lie vi^ell knew
that if they were influenced in their benefi
cence by this holy principle, not only would
the amount of their contribution answer the
end proposed, but obtain favor with God,
and leave a sanctifying influence on their
hearts. It need not be urged upon the in-
telligent reader that this is a matter of the
highest importance. The charity of the
\ present day seems rather to be under the
I impulse of the emotions than to flow from
I any well-defined principle. In most instan-
ces he is the successful advocate of a benevo-
lent scheme who can best enlist their sympa-
thies for the object, and has the least to say
about obligation and spiritual growth. This
whole system of periodical play upon the
emotions is deadly to principle. Any stream
of beneficence tliat has not its fountain-head
at the cross of Christ must be fluctuating in
its flow, and doubtful in its influence upon
the heart.

It is this principle which modern benefi-
cence stands in need of It gives the only
value to charity, and makes each act an
occasion of religious joy. This gives the

THE CHRISTIAN LAW OF BENEFICENCE. 53

widow's mite value beyond all computation,
exalting it far above the largest gift from
any other motives. It gives, even to a cup
of cold water, an eternal remembrance, and
especial commendation from the King of
heaven. David said, " My goodness ex-
tendeth not to thee, but to the saints that
are in the earth ;" but our Saviour tells us,
*' Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of
the least of these my brethren, ye have done
it unto me." We have no hope of any great
reform in our beneficence until this prin-
ciple has a permanent lodgment in the heart.
It may be said to be of greater importance
than system, for it alone Avill furnish a pro-
per foundation for system.

We cannot forbear quoting in this place
some eloquent words from "Mammon" that
have a direct bearing on this point. " Thus,
while false religion makes alms-deeds a
substitute for piety, the Gospel heightens
benevolence into one of the most spiritual
and improving duties the Christian can per-
form. For, by imbuing his heart with the
love of God, it enables him to taste the god-
like enjoyment of doing good ; and, by teach-
ing him to refer all his acts of benevolence
to Christ, to perform them as expressions of
gratitude to him, to liope for their accept-

54 SYSTEMATIC BENEFICENCE.

ance through him, and to pray that they may
tend to his glory, it keeps him near to the
cross, in an atmosphere of spiritual and ele-
vated piety. And when once he has become
native to the element, when the expansive,
delightful, irresistible power of the Saviour's
grace has become his ruling motive, he would
feel an inferior principle to be little less than
degradation and bondage. He accounts the
costliest sacrifice he can offer as poor; re-
sents the limits which a cold and calculating-
selfishness would impose on his offering as
chains and fetters ; and if called upon to pour
forth his blood as a libation on the altar of
Christian sacrifice, he w^ould feel that he had
rendered an ample explanation of his con-
duct by saying, with the apostle, ' The love
of Christ constraineth us.' "

Having made these remarks, which seem-
ed to us necessary to a right apprehension
of the system, we invite your attention to
the direct teachings of this incomparable
rule.

1. It provides a cliaritcible fund in the
possession of every Christian^ to le drai07i
upon as occasion requires.

" Let every one of you lay by him in store."
The design of the apostle looks forward to
the accumulation of a fund which belongs to

THE CHRISTIAN LAW OF BENEFICENCE. 55

the Lord, and which the possessor holds as a
steward, ready to distribute whenever a char-
itable call is made. Certainly this is com-
mendable in whatever light it is viewed ;
and suggests that it is acceptable as a skillful
financial arrangement. It would be folly to
argue that any system of distribution can
be successful that has not permanent and
accessible resources. The experiment of do-
ing business without capital is hazardous, we
might say foolish, and the result is apt to be
time spent to little or no purpose.

The occasions of charity — laying aside the
periodical calls of our well-known and praise-
worthy benevolent institutions — are frequent,
nor can we expect them to be less so; in-
deed, quite too frequent for the consciences
of those who have not yet learned " that it is
more blessed to give than to receive." The
calls of the destitute, the sick, the unfortunate,
come within the sphere of our own distribu-
tion, and generally require immediate atten-
tion. How often do these calls come when,
as the phrase is, " we are unprepared !" There
may not be wanting the will to give ; but
either the funds are not in our hands, or
what is in our possession has already been
laid aside for secular purposes. Even if the
applicant is not turned away einptv, the

56 SYSTEMATIC BENEFICENCE.

contribution comes so " grudgingly " that the
giver fails entirely to receive any spiritual
benefit from it. But this plan of setting aside
a fund consecrated to the Lord, places our
beneficence in a position where it is not af-
fected by such accidents and untoward cir-
cumstances. One who provides for his be-
neficence on this plan, not only finds himself
ready when called upon, but he soon learns
the blessing of doing good ; he knows that
" the Lord loveth a cheerful giver." " ]N"o-
thing remains but to make the appropriation.
Such a man has no conflict with covetousness.
The battle has been fought, and the victory
won."

There are those who have tested this plan,
and their testimony is too valuable to be un-
noticed in an essay of this character. The
plan has peculiar advantages for those who
are poor and in moderate circumstances in
life. It alone can prepare them to give
with ease and cheerfulness. This has been
well illustrated by one whom we are accus-
tomed to call a poor man. A shoemaker
is mentioned in an Episcopal periodical at
Burlington, 'New Jei*sey, whose benevolence
was known to be large for one in his cir-
cumstances. Being asked how he contrived
to give so much, he replied that it was easily

THE CHRISTIAN LAW OF BEXEFICENCK. 5T

done bv obeying St. Panl's precept in 1 Cor.
xvi, 2. "I earn," said he, " one day with
another, about a dollar a day, and I can,
without inconvenience to myself or family,
lay by five cents of this sum for charitable
purposes ; the amount is thirty cents a week.
My wife takes in sewing and washing, and
earns something like two dollars a week, and
she lays by ten cents of that. My children
each of them earn a shilling or two, and are
glad to contribute their penny ; so that alto-
gether we lay hy 'us in store forty cents a
week. And if we have been unusually
prospered, we contribute something more.
The weekly amount is deposited every Sun-
day morning in a box kept for that purpose,
and reserved for future use. Thus, b}^ the
small earnings, we have learned that it is
more blessed to give than to receive." The
simplicity and efficiency of this plan, as
proved by this example, removes all neces-
sity for exposition and exhortation. " The
way-faring man, though a fool, need not err
therein." The system needs but a trial by
those whose means are small, but whose
hearts willingly respond to calls for benevo-
lence. God has here provided a plan by
which they may have the continued luxury
of giving for his sake.

6S SYSTEMATIC BENEFICENCE.

Nor IS this system, which some might be
disposed to say was designed for the poor
alone, without eqnal advantages to the rich
man. The competition in business, and the
burning desire to be wealthy, which seems to
be a peculiarity of our age, act very unfavor-
ably upon those who acknowledge the justice
of the claims of charity. Their capital is
employed so as to present a bulwark against
an extended beneficence, and the conscience
is appeased with the thought that at some
future time it will not be so, when they will
be able to respond to all calls in a hand-
some manner. Many a'^awful claimant has
been turned away, or but indifferently sup-
plied, because nothing was laid hy in store^
and the demands of business absorbed all
the means at command. But those in the
wealthier walks of life who have tested this
system, find that it is the only one ever de-
vised which seemed fully to meet their situ-
ation. A merchant says, " It is now several
years since I adopted this plan, and under it
I have acquired a handsome capital, and
have been prospered beyond my most san-
guine expectations. Although constantly
giving^ I have never yet touched the lottom
of my fmid^ and have been frequently sur-
prised to find what large drafts it would

THE CHRISTIAN LAW OF BENEFICENCE. 59

bear. This system has been of great advan-
tage to me, enabling me to feel that my life
is directly employed for God. It has afford-
ed me happiness in enabling me to portion
out the Lord's money, and has enlisted my
mind more in the progress of Christ's cause."

" A distinguished citizen says of the sys-
tem, 'I have practiced it for several years,
and found a blessing in it. It is God's own
plan, and therefore better than any other.
So every one will lind it who will try it.
It increases our chctHty f%md manifold^
without our perceiving any diminution of
capital or income ; and the fund thus set
apart being consecrated to the Lord, we are
able to distribute it without grudging, and
with a more unbiased judgment, as occa-
sion requires. I am one of the witnesses
for God, that in this matter, as in all others,
he is good.' "

The aj^ostle assigns as a reason that they
should lay by them in store, " Tliat there be
no gatherings when I come," These words,
which are overlooked by a majority of
readers, have, if we are not mistaken, a
deep significance. The apostle, while en-
gaged in his ordinary labors as a minister of
the Gospel, was also an agent for this chari-
ty fund. We cannot suppose that his haste

60 SYSTEMATIC BENEFICENCE

in conveying the funds contributed to Jeni-
saleni, would not allow him sufficient time
at Corinth to visit the Churches and collect
a contribution in person, for he proposes in
the sixtli verse of tlie same chapter to spend
the winter with them. We are therefore
compelled to allow that it had an intimate
connection with the peculiarities and per-
fection of the system itself.

It will be noticed that this plan stands in
direct opposition to the system of collections
practiced in the Churches at this time.
Look for a moment at our system. A benev-
olent society wishes to procure funds : the
first step to be taken is to secure a minister,
generally a man of superior talent, whose
business is to canvass a certain district for
this single purpose. The first evil effect of
this plan is to deprive a congregation of the
services of their pastor, even if they have
his regular or occasional services as a
preacher. The appointment of one who
has been called to preach the Gospel to a
labor in which preaching is of secondary
importance, is, to say the least of it, of
questionable propriety. But by the plan
of having a fund set apart in each Christian
family, ready to meet calls for charitable
purposes, laymen might fill the duties of an

THE CHRISTIAN LAW OF BENEFICENCE. 61

agency with efficiency ; or the pastor of
.each congregation, without respect to his
talents or injury to his work, could forward
the offerings of his congregations. It would
also add to the funds no inconsiderable
amount now expended in paying the neces-
sary expenses of traveling agents.

The agent having been procured, he is to
make periodical visits to the Churches in
his district, and, addressing them directly on
the object of his mission, collect as large a
sum as possible. To secure this contribu-
tion he is expected to present the wants of
those whom his agency is designed to bene-
fit in the glowing words of imagination,
in startling appeals, and often with corusca-
tions of wit and humorous anecdotes. At
the happy moment, when the sympathies of
his audience are wrought up to the highest
pitch of excitement, the appropriations are
received. The immediate result may be a
large collection. But is the giver really
benefited in his spiritual life ? Is he less
covetous than he was before ? Is there not
a lurking suspicion in his mind, when the
excitement is over, that he has not been
fairly dealt with by the speaker, and
that he has not been influenced by right
motives ?

5

b2 8TSTEMATIC BENEFICENCE.

Now mark the manner of St. Paul. Fii-st
of all, he did not let it interfere with his
regular duties as a minister of the Gospel.
Neither did he make an appeal to their
sympathy after the manner of the present
time. The object of the contribution was in
the highest degree worthy, and presented a
favorable opportunity for passionate elo-
quence. But he is silent on this point, and
relies upon the presentation of motives lying
at the basis of every-day Christian life. He
appeals to the reciprocal love of Christ as
the prime consideration. "Ye know the
grace of our Lord Jesus Christ." He ap-
peals to their Christian character, and the
propriety of rendering it complete. "There-
fore, as ye abound in everything, in faith,
and utterance, and knowledge, and in all
diligence, and in your love to us, see that
ye abound in this grace also." He reminds
them, "God is able to make all grace abound
toward you ; that ye, always having all suf-
ficiency in all things, may abound to every
good work ; being enriched in everything to
all bountifulness, which causes through us
thanksgiving to God. For the administra-
tion of this service not only supplieth the
wants of the saints, but is abundant also by
many thanksgivings unto God."

THE CHRISTIAN LAW OF BENEFICENCE. 63

There seems, then, to be an error in our
whole system of collections. The apostle
writes its condemnation where he says,
"that there be no gathering when I come."
It would be perilous to give up these
agencies at once, or at all, without the
Church can be brought back to this system
of its primitive days, providing a fund and
iiolding it in readiness to give at the proper
time, under the influences of true Christian
principle. When we cultivate the right
spirit, and adopt the right system, the ob-
jects claiming our benevolence will receive
all that is desirable, and we shall grow in
grace. The investigation, then, leads us to
conclude that the desired end can be ob-
tained in no other manner than by laymg
hy us in store.

2. The duty and advantages of providing
a 2>e7")nanent and availahle charitable fund
heing alloioed, the next step leads us to in-
quire from what source this fund is to he
derived ?

The rule provides for this by a stroke of
wisdom that cannot be less than divine:
"^5 God hath prospered himP Viewing
tliis as tlie standard of giving, it may be
applied with perfect justice to every man,
rich or poor, to whom this word of salvation

64: SYSTEMATIC BENEFICENCE.

is sent. If it be examined as a means di-
rected to a particular result — providing a
fund for all benevolent purposes — no doubt
whatever may be entertained of its efficien-
cy. This feature of the plan is of such
charming simplicity, that the effort to pre-
sent it in a plainer light would seem to be
fruitless. It recommends itself to the con-
science and judgment of every man who is
anxious to live for the glory of God. If it
had proposed a specific sum without regard
to our worldly condition, the poor and un-
fortunate might have found it a burden,
while the rich and prosj)erous could have
met its claims without the semblance of
self-denial. But it comes to you, and says
you may meet the requirements of your
Maker by appropriating a ]\\^i p^'oportion of
the prosperity he is daily giving you. Have
you received nothing f then nothing is re^
quired. Have you received freely f then
give freely. Does not your conscience tell
you it would be avarice to give less ?

The principle here assumed is, that God
has the supreme ownershii3 of our property;
that we are stewards^ not proprietors of its
increase or prosperity. He does not propose
to remove it out of our hands, except we
prove unfaithful and unprofitable servants ;

THE CHRISTIAN LAW OF BENEFICENCE. 65

yet he claims that the increase of it shall be
appropriated in beneficence to the cause of
salvation and the poor. Let us for a mo-
ment suppose that a friend had left a portion
of his property in our hands, with instruc-
tions, that after supplying our necessary
wants the remainder should be applied to
the spread of the Gospel and the necessities
of the poor, could we honestly spend it in any
other manner? Would it not be robbery?
So God looks at it. What else did he mean
when he said to his people, " Will a man
rob God ? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye
say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In
tithes and offerings."

We are to give as God hath prospered us.
We have examples elsewhere in the Scrip-
tures to assure us that it is a plan with
which God is well pleased. When it was
known at Antioch, by prophecy, that a great
famine was in prospect, we are informed,
"Every man oGcording to his ahility^ deter-
mined to send relief unto the brethren which
dwelt in Judea." St. Peter says, "If any
man minister — that is, to the necessities of
the poor — let him do it as of the ability that
God giveth." Every one, then, is to give as
God hath prospered him — according to the
ability that God giveth.

66 SYSTEMATIC BENEFICENCE.

Bat it may be profitable to inquire, What
is our ability? This appears to mean the
increase of our property without any diminu-
tion of its bulk ; yet we are inclined to be-
lieve that in many cases the spirit of the
rule would lay its claim upon something
more than the regular increase or income.
This treatise may fall into the hands of many
who did not recognize the claims of religion
and obtain Church membership, until they
had accumulated a large amount of property.
Others again, who, although they com-
menced the service of God in their early and
unprosperous days, have growm rich without
paying due attention to the claims of benevo-
lence ; they may not have seen the binding
obligation of this rule, and therefore added
to their capital sums which should have been
given to the cause of God. Now, while we
are willing to allow that a man who has
always observed this rule is called upon only
to give of his income or increase, we cannot
say the same of those who have grown rich
before they began to apply the rule. John
"Wesley is a notable example of one who
began right and continued right. His in-
come at first was no more than thirty pounds
a year ; but of this he applied " two pounds
in beneficence. The next year his income

■ THE cheistia:!? law of beneficence. 67

was sixty pounds ; he confined his expenses
to twenty-eight pounds, and gave away
thirty-two. As his income increased he con-
tinued to live on his former allowance. The
last entry he made in his private journal
was: "For upward of eighty-six years I
have kept my accounts exactly. I will not
attempt it any longer, being satisfied with
the continual conviction that I save all I
can and give all I can ; that is, all I have."
When dead, his property w^as found to con-
sist of his clothes, his books, and a carriage.
It is computed he gave away, during his life-
time, more than a hundred thousand dol-
lars.

A course of continual accumulation does
not seem to be in accordance with the spirit
of the Gospel. When w^e propose this, we
should ask ourselves the question, in the fear
of God and looking forward to the judgment
day. Have I done this, or do I propose to
do it for the glory of God ? Have I not been
actuated in this resolution more by the max-
ims of business and a covetous world than by
the example and spirit of my blessed Master ?
You may be saving to provide an ample or
magnificent fortune for your children. Look
around and see if, judging by the example
of others, you are not preparing a snare for

68 SYSTEMATIC BENEFICENCE.

their souls. You have, perhaps, conduded
to accumulate and leave large charities when
you die. This prospective benevolence is
often more a device of Satan than the teach-
ing of Christianity ; for you seem to forget
that God, by his blessing, can make the
small sum you are able to give to-day, if it
is done in the right spirit, go farther than
the largest gift when you grow rich or are
dying. Would it not be a more grateful
exercise for the heart to dispense in charity
with 3^our own hand, than to leave the work
to your executors ? Consider w4iat a hal-
lowed example it would be to your children
and the Church. Would not sowing more
plentifully enable you to reap more plenti-
fully, and thus greatly enlarge your sphere
of usefulness? Have you not withheld, in
part at least, because you have not felt con-
fidence in that divine saying of the Saviour,
" It is more blessed to give than to receive ? "
There are circumstances in which it may
not be improper to accumulate a large capi-
tal ; for some kinds of business cannot be suc-
cessfully conducted without such an amount
of capital as would be useless in others. Such
a business may be conducted in, a Christian
spirit, but only when the whole is consecrated
to the glory of God. The better rule is to

THE CBEISTIAN LAW OF BENEFICEjN^CE. 69

place a limitation on the increase of capital,
and afterward devote the wliole produce to
God. We have an example of this manner
of honoring God with our substance in the
case of Mr. Nathaniel R. Cobb, a young
merchant connected with the Baptist Church
in Boston. At the age of twenty-three he
drew up and subscribed the following cove-
nant : —

"By the grace of God, I will never be
worth more than fifty thousand dollars.

"By the grace of God, I will give one-
fourth of the net profits of my business to
charitable and religious uses.

" If I am ever worth twenty thousand dol-
lars, I will give one-half of my net profits ;
and if I am ever worth thirty thousand dol-
lars, I will give three-fourths ; and the whole
after fifty thousand dollars. So helj) me
God, or give to a more faithful steward and
set me aside."

Mr. Cobb adhered to this covenant with
conscientious fidelity till he had acquired
fifty thousand dollars, after which he gave
all his profits. On his death-bed he said to
a friend, "By the grace of God — nothing
else — by the grace of God I have been ena-
bled, under the influence of these resolutions,
to give away more than forty thousand dol-

TO SYSTEMATIC BENEFICENCE.

lars. Hov/ good the Lord has been to me !"
Now here is an instance of true Christianity.
The closino; honrs of such a hfe have more
of happiness in them than all the gold of this
world could purchase. Such lives are worth
much to the ^vorld, as a proof of what Chris-
tianity, intelligently understood and prac-
ticed, could do for its salvation.

To carry out the spirit of this rule, which
seems to refer immediately to income^ we in-
quire. What propoi'tion of our income should
he devoted to charitable and religious pur-
poses? This is a question of no small im-
portance, and in the end it must be left to
the enlightened judgment and conscience of
each Christian. We only propose an inquiry
on this point with a view of correcting some
false impressions too prevalent among Chris-
tians. Many have thought one-tenth the
proper proportion for all persons, under all
circumstances. This has gained favor under
the mistaken notion that it is the amount
given by the Jews under the Mosaic dispen-
sation. We have already shown this notion
to be an error ; yet it has been, and con-
tinues to be, the proportion given by many
good men. Lord Chief-Justice Hale, Rev.
Dr. Hammond, Baxter, and Doddridge, each
gave one-tenth. Dr. Watts gave a fifth ;

THE CHRISTIAN LAW OF BENEFICENCE. Yl

Mrs. Rowe one-half. Mr. Wesley, as we
have already noticed, gave all.

This is the point in the rule that will test
our Christian principles, and therefore a
scrupulous compliance with it will lead to
the greatest spiritual advantage. There can
be no question that the amount is to be in
proportion to the income, and will vary, in
most circumstances, from year to year. The
day-laborer, whose income is three or four
hundred dollars a year, might find it difficult
to give one-tenth of this for charitable pur-
poses ; while the merchant or professional man,
who clears in his business two or three thou-
sand dollars a year, would scarcely realize
the loss of one-tenth. So also the young
man commencino; business with a limited
capital, could not give one-tenth with the
same ease that he can now with the ample
means he has acquired. Thus it often hap-
pens that charity becomes >less and less a
matter of self-denial and blessing, and covet-
ousness grows in the heart because we do not
give as God has prospered us. The plan,
then, would seem to be a careful and consci-
entious assessment of the income, increasing
or decreasing with the increase or decrease
of our prosperity, as the case might be,
and a limitation of the amount of capital,

'72 SYSTEMATIC BENEFICENCE.

looking forward to a time when our labor is
for God as fully as the man who has been
consecrated to his service by the imposi-
tion of hands. This was the plan that ena-
bled Mr. Cobb to make his life rich in good
works.

We would record another example, prin-
cipally to show that there is nothing imprac-
ticable in the rule. " In consecrating my
life anew to God, aware of the enervating
influence of riches, and the necessity of
deciding on a plan of charity hefore wealth
should Mas my judgment, I adopted the fol-
lowing system : I decided to balance my
accounts, as nearly as I could, every month ;
and reserving such portions of profits as
might appear adequate to cover probable
losses, to lay aside, by entry on a benevolent
account, one-tenth of the remaining profits,
great or small, as a fund for benevolent ex-
penditure. I further determined, that if at
any time my net profits, that is, profits from
which clerk-hire and store-expenses had been
deducted, should exceed five hundred dollars
in a month, I would give twelve and a half
per cent. ; if over seven hundred dollars,
fifteen per cent. ; if over nine hundred dol-
lars, seventeen and a half per cent. ; if over
eleven hundred dollars, twenty per cent. ;

THE CHRISTIAN LAW OF BENEFICENCE. Y3

if over thirteen hundred doHars, twenty-two
and a half per cent. ; thus increasing the
jyroportion on the whole, as God should pros-
pei\ until, at fifteen hundred dollars, I shonld
give twenty- five per cent., or three hundred
and seventy-five dollars per month. As
capital was of the ntmost importance to insure
my success in business, I decided not to in-
crease the foregoing scale until I had acquired
a certain capital, after which I would give
one-quarter of all my profits, great or small ;
and on the acquisition of another certain
amount of capital, I decided to give half •
and on acquiring what I determined would
be a full sufiiciency of capital, then to give
the whole of my net ^^rofits."

In making the decision how large a pro-
portion of the income shall be devoted to
charitable and religious purposes, we should
be careful to be guided by an enlightened
Christian spirit. There is but little danger
of giving too much. The standard of liber-
ality now prevalent among Christians, if
weighed in the balance of the sanctuary,
would be found wanting. The question is
often, Hoxo much can I give without feeling
it? "Was this the spirit that brought the
Saviour from the skies to redeem man ? Did
he do as little as he could, or give himself

74 SYSTEMATIC BENEFICENCE.

unreservedly to the work? If we had the
same spirit would we not give all we could,
saving for this purpose by industry, economy,
and self-denial. Would it not be well for
us to sit down and remember all the mercies
of the Lord we have received, temporal and
spiritual, and propose the solemn question,
"How much owest thou thy Lord?" Con-
sider for what purpose he asks in return that
which he has bestowed — to bring gladness to
sorrowful hearts, and send the Gospel to
those without hope and without God in the
world. Consider who it is that asks your
charity. " Pass by the cross on your way to
the altar of oblation, and your richest offer-
ing will appear totally unworthy of divine
acceptance."

In making provision for our charity, we
should consider how much may be obtained
by honest industry, economy, and self-denial.
The apostle commanded Christians to " labor,
working with their hands the thing which is
good, that they may have to give to him that
needeth." The talent placed in our care has
to be returned in due time, and an account
given of the labor for its increase. A sad
destiny awaits that steward that hides it in
a napkin. Says St. Paul, " I have showed
you all things, how that so laboring ye

THE CHRISTIAN LAW OF BENEFICENCE. iO.

ought to support the weak." " "Why stand
ye here all the day idle ?" Answer the ques-
tion to your Saviour and your Judge. We
have read of a woman in positively needy
circumstances in life who offered to sub-
scribe a penny a week to the funds of a mis-
sionary society. Said one, " You are cer-
tainly too poor to afford so much." Her
answer was, " I spin so many skeins of yarn
a week for my maintenance : I will spin one
more, and that will be a penny for the
society." One of the most liberal spirits we
ever knew was a woman engaged in a book-
bindery, who not only gave in charity all
she could in any way spare from her weekly
wages, but did over- work every week that
her charitable fund might be increased. Can
that person who accumulates a large prop-
erty, and then retires from business to spend
the remnant of his life- in ease and indulg-
ence, take the words of Scripture in his
mouth, and say, " None of us liveth unto
himself?" We should not try to cease our
labors while our lives are spared, for the
Saviour says, '' Occupy till I come."

Large sums of money are spent in need-
less self-indulgence, to the great injury of
immortal souls. This crime has crept into
the Church. There can be no greater folly

76 SYSTEMATIC BENEFICENCE,

perpetrated bv an iminortal soul tlian to
clothe the body in the trappings of fashion,
or pamper its appetites with the appliances
of sensnality. Yet pride, and fashion, and
gratification of the palate have swallowed
up countless sums that in justice belong to
the poor. Some think a fashionable prodi-
gality no sin. They have read their Bibles
to a poor purpose. The theory, often advo-
cated as an apology for luxury, that the ex-
travagant expenditures of the rich are a
source of profit to the poor, is a sophism too
flimsy to stand the test of common-sense and
observation. Y>^liatever turns industry to
waste, is just so much thrown away that
ought to have been expended in extending
liappiness. But this is viewing the evil
under its least serious aspect. How many
ruin their souls? Extravagance, where it
does not lead to immoralities, begets covet-
ousness ; covetousness leads often to avarice ;
avarice to positive injustice ; and the torpor
of spiritual death steals upon tlie soul, lead-
ing it to eternal ruin.

The founder of Methodism, John "Wesley,
left us an example in this respect that should
be held in grateful and continual remem-
brance. The accountant-general suspect-
ing he had more property than was appa-

THE CHRISTIAN LAW OF BENEFICENCE. 77

rent, or had been returned on the tax-list,
sent him the following note, enclosing a
copy of the " Excise order for the return of
plate." " Reverend sir — As the commission-
ers cannot doubt you have plate, for which you
have hitherto neglected to make an entry,"
etc. Mr. "Wesley returned the following
answer: "Sir, I have two silver spoons at
London, and two at Bristol, and I shall not
buy any more while so many around me
want bread." This was self-denial such as
but few Christians practice. Sit down a
few moments and carefully calculate how
much you spend for the gratification of ap-
petite, how much to gratify unholy desires,
how much to compete with the unchristian
display of your neighbors. Sum up the
items, and ask yourself if it could not be
much less without injuring body or soul,
and without suflering loss of caste with
those whose commendation is worth having.
Then ask yourself how many missionaries it
might help to support among the heathen ;
how many Bibles it might purchase for the
ignorant; how much pinching want and
acute suffering it would alleviate. If your
conscience does not urge you to economize,
examine your heart and see if you have not
forgotten your first love. It is not asked
6

78 SYSTEMATIC BENEFICENCE.

that you should put on the coarse garments
of poverty, or eat the refuse of rich men's
tables; but practice a judicious economy,
such as will be for the glory of God, and
enable you to enjoy the luxury of doing
good.

"If any man will be my disciple," said
the blessed Saviour, "let him deny him
self." Self-denial is a mark of Christianity.
Christ was himself the most luminous exam
pie, but the Church has been rich in lesser
lights. The apostles counted not their lives
dear unto themselves. Many missionaries
of modern days — Carey, Morrison, Cox,
Williams, and a great multitude whose
names are recorded in the Lamb's book of
life — have practiced a system of self-denial
which, if not followed to the letter, should
be the informing spirit of our actions. What
is self-denial ? To give one-tenth of a prince-
ly income in beneficence, and retain the re-
mainder for personal gratification ? IS'o.
It is ofi'ering to the Lord a sacrifice, how-
ever princely, that has cost us something.
It is the consecration of time, talents, of per-
sonal ease, of convenience, to the service of
God, with an intense zeal to make it all-sub-
servient to the interests of his kingdom.
Would not self-denial provide us with a

THE CHRISTIAN LAW OF BENEFICENCE. 79

larger revenue for charitable purposes, and
thus enlarge our sphere of usefulness and
happiness ?

3. The revenue of this charitable fund
being drawn from the prosperity which God
hestoios upon individuals, it is evident that
the amount collected, and the benefits flowing
from the exercise of the religious affections,
will depend iipon the number luho acknowl-
edge the obligation, and conj^orm to it in
their practice.

This ground is fully covered by the rule,
" Let every one of you lay by him in store
as God hath prospered him." The Saviour
in his infinite wisdom and love would make
every regenerate soul a worker with him in
the great plan of salvation ; and if, in the
matter of benevolence, tlie obligation to give
extended only to those who are rich, the
principal design of benificence, the enrich-
ing of the soul to all bountifulness, causing
thanksgivings to God, would be thwarted.
The rule contemplates that every one shall
give to whom God has given prosperity.
Those who live upon the gifts of charity
would not seem to come under the obliga-
tion ; yet have we seen beggars who shared
joyfully their meager pittance with those of
the same class who had been less fortunate.

80 SYSTEMATIC BENEFICENCE.

There are few indeed who can claim excep-
tion under the rule ; none who have a right
understanding of it will wish to be excluded.
"Where there is a willing mind, God rarely
fails to provide the means. How many Avho
read this will call to mind some poor widow
within the range of their observation, that
never fails to give her mite to sustain the
Church and its benevolent institutions. Yet
few things are of more frequent occurrence
than persons of moderate circumstances
making the plea that they are not able to
give. A more intimate acquaintance with
their circumstances will probably convince
us that they have no proper sense of the
obligations to beneficence, or they have no
system in providing for it and bestowing,
and give all where they should give but a
part.

jSTo one doubts the duty of the rich to give,
or that he honors God in so doing. But
does God confine those duties which are a
means of grace to a few, or design to include
all ? Are those only to i^ray who can pray
eloquently ? Those only to labor who can
accomplish much? Some who can give but
little, hesitate to give at all, because they
think the amount too small to be of any
benefit. This is in most cases rather the

THE CHEISTIAN LAW OF BENEFICENCE. 81

suggestion of pride or covetonsness than the
conviction of the mind. Can he who gazes
upon the irresistible current of some large
river, bearing on its bosom the stately vessels
of commerce, forget that it is made up of
trickling drops and insignificant streams,
having their origin far away from the busy
scenes of man ? If only the great ocean
furnished exhalations to be returned in
grateful showers to the earth, the world
would soon become a desert. If the relig-
ious charities of our age had received sup-
port from the rich alone, they would have
achieved but a tithe of the success which
lias marked them. Our great religious en-
terprises are no less sustained by the conflu-
ence of widow's pennies, and small donations
from those in moderate circumstances, than
by the liberal donations and bequests of the
rich.

There are but few in any community so
poor that, with a right disposition, they can-
not lay aside a penny a week, or a penny a
day. This can be done without curtailing
their ordinary table-fare, or interfering with
the means used to provide them with proper
garments. "What poor pei'son would not do
this for the privilege of honoring God by
putting a Bible into the hands of those who

82 SYSTEMATIC BENEFICENCE.

have never heard of Jesus ? They do a great
wrong to themselves and others who despise
the day of small things. The penny tract
has often found its way where the Bible has
been refused and the minister could not effect
an entrance. You are not asked to give
what you have not, but a just proportion of
what you receive. It matters not how small
the amount may be, if it is no less than what
you ought to give. Despise not the small-
ness of the gift ; it may, indeed, fail to elicit
the praise of man, but there is an eye in
heaven ever watchful that will have respect
to it, and keep it in remembrance. Some
years ago a missionary in a foreign station
witnessed, as he thought, a special blessing
attending a yearly donation of twenty dollars,
and was induced to inquire from what source
it was derived. The investigation revealed
that it was the' self-denying gift of a poor
colored domestic, who was giving twenty
dollars a year from her earnings of one dol-
lar a week. God will not fail to make our
smallest gifts to him efficient if we give with
a desire for his glory.

If every one would give, the amount of
funds bestowed upon charitable objects
would be greatly enlarged. The contribu-
tions of the Church are not now equal to the

THE CHRISTIAN LAW OF BENEFICENCE. 83

demand for tlie conversion of the world.
This is a fact too evident to require proof.
"Why is it so ? Is there not sufficient wealth
in the hands of the professed followers of
the Saviour to meet the exigencies of his
kingdom ? There is more than sufficient.
Whv, then, does the Church fail to obtain it?
Partly because those who do give do not
give that jDroj^ortion that God requires, and
partly because so small a number of those
who are able to give, give anything at all.
This may be illustrated by an appeal to
the statistics of the Methodist Episcopal
Church.

The Missionary cause is deservedly the
most popular of all her benevolent enter-
prises. The membership of the Church
may be stated, in round numbers, at seven
hundred and fifty thousand. The sum which
the missionary committee ask the member-
ship to contribute for the year 1856, is
two hundred and sixty thousand dollars ;
not that a larger sum could not be prof-
itably expended, but, guided by the contri-
butions of the previous year, they dare not
anticipate a larger sura. This, apportioned
among the whole membership, would be less
than thirty-five cents a member. For what
purpose is this asked ? To convert the world

84 SYSTEMATIC BENEFICENCE.

to God ! Are there not three thousand per-
sons in our Church who could give the whole
amouut without practicing either economy
or self-denial ? It is impossible to tell how
many give ; but the statistics prepared in
some of the conferences will furnish us
some important information, although wo
cannot accurately determine the question.

We will turn, then, to one of the richest
conferences in the United States. The
average amount per member contributed for
missionary purposes was less than thirty-
five cents. The largest average amount con-
tributed by any charge was one dollar per
member: to accomplish this the greatest
possible exertion was made. The smallest
average amount came from a circuit of two
hundred and fifty-one members, who gave
twenty-four dollars and fifty cents — less than
ten cents a memher. Taking a circuit from
which a detailed report of the missionary col-
lections is presented, giving the name of each
contributor, with the amount individually
contributed, we find the following results.
The circuit, be it remembered, is one of the
best in the conference. The average amount
contributed per member is nearly sixty-two
cents. More than one-third of the whole
amount was contributed by less than one-

THE CHRISTIAN LAW OF BENEFICENCP:. 85

twentieth of the members. The lohole member
that contnhtited were hut two more than one-
half the members. Yet this was on a circuit
where the average contribution was nearly
double that of the Church at large. Kor
should it be forgotten that it was a year of
more than usual activity in the missionary
collections. On this same circuit the. amount
reported was an increase of more than fifty
per cent, on the previous year.

This detailed investigation is not designed
to place our charitable contributions in the
poorest possible light, but rather under favor-
able circumstances. The fact is too plain to
be contradicted : more than half of the mem-
bership in many parts of the Church give
nothing at all for our missionary operations ;
and, we may presume, contribute for no
religious purpose, except for the regular
ministry — and not largely for that The
great deficiency, then, in our system — if we
can be said to have any system at all — is,
that only a small part of the members con-
tribute. There is a fearful delinquency in
this respect. What would be thought of a
society of Christians in which half or more
of the membership thought themselves too
ignorant to pray, and so laid aside this exer-
cise ? We shall lack the highest spiritual

86 SYSTEMATIC BENEFICENCE.

attainments, as well as the necessary funds
for benevolent purposes, until every one
adopts the rule to give as God prospers
him.

But we have already several times hinted
that the collection for charity w^as but a
secondary object of the apostle. His great
design was to give the largest possible scope
for the healthy exercise of the benevolent
affections. The design of our Father in
heaven in requiring us to be charitable, can
only be interpreted as a wise arrangement
to enable us to become more like himself.
"We have noticed, in a former chapter, that
God is not dependent upon us to supply the
wants of the poor. He could have made all
equally rich, or made the earth so rich in all
the necessaries of life that none should want.
So he has provided, in the wondrous plan of
salvation, a scheme by which the poor may
be enriched by the gifts of the rich, and at
the same time make it a blessing to the
giver, as it calls into exercise the best feel-
ings of his renewed nature. This view of
the invaluable effects of beneficence may
not be apparent to some at first sight, but
there can be no doubt of its correctness.
The command to exercise benevolence must
be considered as providing for us a mecms

THE CHRISTIAN LAW OF BENEFICENCE. 87

of grace ^ and, therefore, is to be observed by
all. That no one may be excluded, or lack
an inducement to perform what has been
commanded, Christ places himself in the
position of the poor, and accepts even a
cup of cold water, if it be given in the true
spirit of benevolence. Benevolence, system-
atically and lovingly performed, is the divine
antidote to covetousness; from which we
may not hope to be freed until we under-
stand the value of giving, and practice it
cheerfully in our daily life.

4. To give completeness to the plan of the
apostle^ there is set apart a stated time for the
collection of this fund^ which also identifies
it with our regular religious ohservances.

This is done by the command, " Uj^on the
first day of the weekP The appointment of
a particular day on which the obligations we
are under to provide for our beneficence
may be complied with, is designed to guard
against the desultory habits characteristic
of our present operations. The lack of sys-
tem on this i3oint is one of the most glar-
ing faults of our present religious financial
policy.

The comnumd to set apart as God has
prospered us, on the first day of the week^
does not need to be so strictly interpreted or

bo SYSTEMATIC BENEFICENCE.

enjoined as to interfere with any arrange-
ments of ordinary business ; and none will
desire so to construe it, except, perhaps, those
who would strive to make it appear impossi-
ble for them to come under the plan, and
thus strive to free themselves from the obli-
gation to give. All rules of this kind readily
admit such modifications in their details
as are necessary for individual application,
so long as the spirit of the rule is not in-
fringed. Thus the law to consecrate the
Sabbath, doing no work therein, allows deeds
of mercy and charity. The design of the
command is to provide a stated time when
we shall set apart a portion of our income to
be used, as occasion may require, in benefi-
cence. We should observe even the minut-
est detail, as far as our business afiPairs will
permit; and everyone who can know at the
end of each week what his income has been
during that period of time, should lay aside
in store the proper proportion.

A very large class can do this weekly, in
strict accordance with the letter of the com-
mand. All day-laborers, or those who are
hired by the week, month, or year, or whose
work is of that kind that they receive their
wages on Saturday night, can meet the re-
quirements of the rule with the greatest ease.

THE CHRISTIAN LAW OF BENEFICENCE. 89

The example already given of the shoemaker
in Kew-Jersey may be followed by such per-
sons without hinderance. The following plan
was adopted by an intelligent Christian who
was determined to follow the rule as liter-
ally as his business would permit : " At the
time of his private devotion on Saturday
evening he sets apart from the receipts of the
week a portion for his charity-fund ; or if at
any time he has not the money, he credits
the sum on a benevolent account. As calls
are presented he draws from this fund ; and
if at any time an urgent call requires more
than he has thus set apart, he charges the
ballance on his benevolent account, to be re-
placed from future incomes." An effort
should be made to comply with the rule to
the very letter ; for the oftener we have the
subject before us the greater will be our
spiritual benefit. It should be remembered
that one great end in view is to engage the
constant recognition of the claims of the
Saviour, and the regular exercise of the
heart ; this can be best secured by setting
apart often, until such a habit is induced
that we cannot well free our minds from
the duty under any pressure of ordinary
cares.

Those who cannot so arrange their busi-

90 SYSTEMATIC BENEFICENCE.

ness as to arrive at a knowledge of theii
weekly gains may be able to sum them up
once a month^ and lay by in store as God
hath prospered them during this period.
There is, however, a liability to set apart a
less sum than when it is done more fre-
quently. But where there is a disposition
to comply with the rule there will be no
difficulty ; for the largeness or smallness of
the sum set aside is not to be so much taken
into consideration as the proportion. It
will be much better to be a little beyond
than to fall short of it.

Others again may not be able to arrive at
any correct account of their profits oftener
than once a year. When this is a matter of
necessity'', and not of negligence or want of
interest, it will meet the spirit of the rule.
He is a poor business man who does not take
an account of stock once a 3^ear at least, and
determine the condition of his business.
When this is done, let him lay by the pro-
portion that the cause of benevolence may
lawfully demand, and hold it sacred for this
purpose. The yearly adjustment will often
best meet the aifairs of the farmer. It is
best, however, w^hen a longer period than
once a week is adopted, to determine before-
hand what the proportion shall be ; for if the

THE CHRISTIAN LAW OF BENEFICENCE. 91

heart is not under the holiest influences, suc-
cess will be more apt to lessen the proportion
than to enlarge it. The following plan, that
of a clergyman, has many good features
about it, and is according to the spirit of the
rule. He says : " I have for many years
had a fixed system of giving from one-fifth
to a quarter of my income to religious and
charitable purposes. I have laid out my
plan at the beginning of the year, keeping a
private account of all donations, and leaving
nothing to mere accident or excited feeling
at the moment. At the end of about thirty
years, during which I have carried on this
system, I find my property materially in-
creased; and I am surprised to find, on
looking over my accounts, how many hun-
dreds of dollars I have thus been permitted
to contribute to the cause."

Some may be engaged in such a business
as will allow them to devote a certain pro-
portion of each gain arising in their traffic.
This has many advantages, for it is a con-
tinual reference to an acknowledgment that
we are indebted to God for all our prosper-
ity. It has been adopted by some with great
benefit to themselves ; but from the nature of
the case, it must be of limited application.

A striking peculiarity of this rule yet re-

92 SYSTEMATIC BENEFICENCE.

mains to be noticed. The setting apart of
this fund for benevolent purposes is an ap-
propriate work for the Sabbath. It is a very
common occurrence to see persons grow in-
dignant at the mere mention of money mat-
ters in the cliurch on Sabbath, and to hear
them talk with peculiar solemnity and earn-
estness of its impropriety, even calling it a
degradation of the Sabbath. It is known that
this class of persons are not famous for their
liberality. There is nothing said in this rule
regarding the propriety of such Sabbath col-
lections ; but it certainly points out the cor-
rectness of taking into consideration our
earthly prosperity, and setting aside the por-
tion that should be sacred to the Lord. Many
commentators are of the opinion that in this
case it was designed to bring the portion to
the church and deposit it in the treasury.
The objection that is made to handling
money on the Sabbath for charitable pur-
poses is, however, entirely overthrown by
the rule.

There seems to be a peculiar fitness in
making the Sabbath the occasion on which
we are to separate a portion of our prosperity
for charitable and religious uses. The act is
a recognition of the goodness of God toward
us in our temporal affairs ; a fact that we

THE CHRISTIAN LAW OF BENEFICENCE. 93

are too apt to forget. The Sabbath is for
rest and devotion ; when the mind, relieved
from the ordinary round of toil and business,
takes into solemn consideration its eternal
interests. In a peculiar manner the good-
ness and mercy of our Father in heaven re-
curs to our minds. The privileges of the
sanctuary and means of grace are forced
upon our attention. We are carried back
by the services to the sublime spectacle of
the Saviour's life and death. The rich and
the poor meet together, sharing equal -privi-
leges, and the truth of common interest and
fellowship sinks silently into the heart.
Could there be a more opportune moment
to ask ourselves, " How much owest thou thy
Lord ?" The bands of a worldly selfishness
are loosened or removed, and the just claims
of God and humanity are met, our own
souls are watered from on high, and fresli
strength is imparted that we may go on our
way rejoicing. If we believe, as we ought,
that alms-giving is a duty no less than prayer
and praise, we should be thankful in our
hearts that God has in this gracious manner
connected it with our Sabbath joys.

It would be happy for us if we could aid
some good cause or poor person every day,
tor with sucli sacrifices God is well-pleased.
1

94 SYSTEMATIC BEXEFICENCE.

How erroneous, then, is that common re-
mark that we are called upon too often for
charitable purposes. If we provide our fund
as here directed, and give with intelligence
and equity, these calls cannot come too fre-
quently, for we will have a little for each.
We are not to concentrate all our charity
upon one object, however worthy it maybe,
but give to each in that proportion which
will enable us to assist in all.

We have now presented an exposition of
this divine rule of Christian Beneficence,
imperfectly it may be, but we trust in such
a manner as not only to win your admira-
tion in contemplating the divine wisdom
contained in it, but also your consent to
its obligations as an important duty and
means of grace. You must have observed
as we proceeded, that it is founded upon the
same principles that form the substratum
of the Jewish rules examined in the third
chapter. You may see in this, as in that,
the design of Heaven for the welfare of
the soul. The Saviour would preserve
you blameless here, and prepare you for
the enjoyment of a better life beyond the
grave. He would throw the broad shield of
his grace between you and the world that is
apt to engage your attention, and peril your

THE CHRISTIAN LAW OF BENEFICENCE. 95

soul. It is not a burden to make your jour-
ney wearisome, but a ricli provision of
manna to strengthen you on your way to
your eternal home.

The observance of this rule would possibly
cause a great change in the manner of your
spiritual life ; but would it not be a happy
change ? You cannot say that it is not prac-
ticable, for we have shown that where it
cannot be kept in the letter it may in the
spirit. Fail not to take *the subject with you
into your closet, and on your knees before
the throne of grace decide, and we have no
fear. Yon will consecrate yourselves and all
you have to His service. You will come
forth with new and holy aims, and a serene
joy in your heart. Remember the day of
your adoption into the family of God. Trace
his mercies to the present hour. Then ask,
" What shall I render unto the Lord for all
his benefits ?"

96 SYSTEMATIC BENEFICENCE.

CHAPTEE YI.

THE BENEFITS THAT WOULD FLOW TO THE
CHUKCH FEOM THE ADOPTION OF THIS EULE.

It is always presumed that the Christian
loves the Chnrcli, and is willing to undergo
labor and practice self-denial for her pros-
perity. How could it be otherwise ? Rec-
ollections of the happiness he has enjoyed
in her services force upon him the words
of the psalmist: "How amiable are th}^ tab-
ernacles, O Lord of Hosts !" But he sees in
the Church far more than a source of joy
and refuge for his own spirit ; it is the visi-
ble regenerative power of the earth. All
that is great and good in modern times has
proceeded from her wondrous life ; beyond
her pale are ignorance, misery, and desola-
tion. He sees in the Church the great ele-
ment of human progress, and knows that the
hopes of humanity are bound up in her ex-
tension. Knowing that the design of God
is no less than the redemption of the world,
using the Church as the visible means, he at
once realizes that her only proper character
is aggressive, occupying the ground from

THE BENEFITS TO THE CHUKCH. 97

one outpost to another until the world shall
be filled with his glory. Yet a hasty glance
at the manner in which she has fulfilled this
her true aggressive character, leads him to
confess that it has not been proportionate to
her lofty aims, or to the commands of her
Master.

It is true he sees in this period of her his-
tory an activity far in advance of former
years. Her missionaries are planting the
standard of the cross in but newly- discover
ed lands ; her Bibles are multi23lied like the
sands on the sea-shore ; her colporteurs are
finding the paths that lead to neighborhoods
unvisited by ordinary means of grace; her
Sabbath schools are molding the minds of
millions of the young; but when his eye
wanders over the vast concourse of the
earth's people, he is led to exclaim, " What
are these among so many ! " The convic-
tion forces itself upon his mind that the
Church is not acting up to the demands of
the age. Yet she is the only hope of the
age. The people are wounded on account
of their transgressions, and she alone has the
balm for tlieir cure. They are thirsting for
the waters of life that flow only through her
channels. In the midst of their agony they
cry, '* Come over and help us ! " We look

98 SYSTEMATIC BENEFICENCE.

about and inquire, "Who will go?" One
comes forward whose soul is imbued with a
holy zeal to save souls; he says, "Send me."
The means are sought to provide for him in
his mission ; they come reluctantly, or en-
tirely fail. Our eyes wander again across
the blue ocean, and the people stand pale,
emaciated, perishing for lack of the bread
of life. We look to heaven, and from its
stillness a beseeching voice pleads, " Go ye,
therefore, into all the world."

The design of the Church is to evangelize
the world. 'No one can read his Bible and
come to any other conclusion. The lands
that have never heard the name of Jesus
are to become vocal with his praise. The
isles of the sea are to echo back the joyful
strains of the continent. The poor and out-
cast of our Christian lands are to be brought
into the service of the Lord. It is a great
w^ork, you say ; yes, the design was heaven-
born, and shows the amplitude of infinite
love and compassion. But you cannot
doubt that the Church is able to accomplish
it if she would use all her capacities, under
the direction of the word and the Spirit.
Let us examine this work a little more care-
fully ; for perhaps nothing can so well pre-
sent to us the dutv ^f the Church as an in-

THE BENEFITS TO THE CHUECH. di)

telHgent appreliension of the demands of
the world upon her aid.

In looking at the religious condition of
men, the most important fact which strikes
the eye of every observer, is, that the
false religions of the world are tottering
with age, and are about to fall in pieces
and crumble into dust. There is no form
of false religion in the earth that is as
strong now, or capable of exerting as much
influence, as in some former time in their
history. The better acquaintance we have
formed with the nations has assured us that
these ancient faiths have no life, and are
rapidly relaxing their hold on the masses of
the people. They have been contemned
long since by the intelligent, except so far
as their connection with the state has made
them a source of power for the accomplish-
ment of personal aggrandizement or ambition.
These forms of error are imbecile, and were
it not for the protecting hand of the state
had long since fallen. The result of a re-
ligious revolution in these lands would be
atheism, or some form of the supernatural,
which, as far as it affected the soul, would
be no better. We cannot hope that a revo-
lution would be of any profit to them, un-
less as the bands of false religion are

100 SYSTEMATIC BENEFICENCE.

broken, Christianity can be present with
her missionaries, and Bibles, and tracts, to
give a good direction to their newly-ac-
quired freedom. May we not believe that
God in infinite mercy is permitting things
to remain as they are, until the Church is
ready to do her duty in providing means to
evangelize the world ? Without much greater
liberality, she is certainly unprepared for the
immediate execution of her mission.

This inquiry is sufiiciently interesting to
be pursued with greater minuteness. Many
of the nations have but few and faint traces
of civilization; and when in this condition
we might expect their superstitions to yield
immediately, and take the form of the relig-
ion of those from whom they receive their
civilization. They have never felt the force
of fanaticism. They cling to the forms of
religion which they possess, partly because
they came from their fathers, and partly
because they have never seen or known any
thing better. It is a decayed and withered
relic of no real value, which they would
readily exchange for a religion of life and
power.

Elevated above these, China attracts our
attention. Religion with this people is a
name, not a living power. There is no in-

THE BENEFITS TO THE CHURCH. 101

telligence in the strange superstitions of this
people ; and, what is still stranger, they are
as wanting in passion and feeling as in mind.
Their form of religion could not exist with-
out the present form of government, and
while we are writing that seems to be pass-
ing away. The great revolution now shaking
that empire from center to circumference, is
casting the idols to the bats and the moles,
and proposes to install in their place what
they intend for Christianity. If they suc-
ceed, what a w^ork opens to the Church.
Four hundred millions of immortal souls
asking foi* the bread of life, and to be shown
the way to heaven.

India, with her Brahmins, like so many
enchanters holding the people in awe, is,
perhaps, less vulnerable than any other
stronghold of heathendom. But even here
the preaching of the cross has been the
"power of God unto salvation." There is
hope for India, for the power of her formal
devotions is growing less every day, as they
are brought into comparison with the religion
of Christ and the civilization of modern
Europe. It was in these lands that the
modern missionaries first planted their stand-
ards, placing them in a position in which,
if they triumphed, it might be proof that

102 SYSTEMATIC BENEFICENCE.

there was no danger of failure in any other
direction.

Look at Mohammedanism. The empire
in which it reigns bears all the marks of a
speedy decay, and nothing better can be said
of its faith. It has long ceased to be aggres-
sive, and has been encroached upon in more
than one direction. The wise men of the
nation are compelled to see that the religion
of Christ is superior to that of Mohammed,
and they have lost all confidence in its power
to arouse the nation to life. The concessions
that have been made to Christians, especially
during the progress of the war, indicate that
the day dawns in which w^e shall have set
before us an open door. We must prepare
to enter it.

The next step brings us into the presence
of that baleful superstition that has been en-
gendered and nurtured in the very heart of
Cliristianity — Romanism. But if the day of
her glory has not departed, and the vanity
and decrepitude of second childhood is not
settling down upon her, then we have no clues
by which to trace the labyrinthian march of
history. Her power has been waning for
these two hundred years so palpably, that
none, except herself, has the hardihood to
deny it. The coldness of death has long

THE BENEFITS TO THE CHUECU. 103

since come upon her extremities, and cannot
be much longer kept from her heart. The
power that ruled the nations has become too
abject to claim the respect of her children,
^nd seeks foreign aid to gain a night's se-
curity.

Had we space to examine more particu-
larly into the condition of these nations, the
facts w^ould stand out in bolder relief It
has been said by a writer now living, " No
such singular conjuncture of symptoms
throughout the world has ever before in-
vited the activity and zeal of Christians.
And if the pressure of responsibility is at all
times great upon them, in this behalf it has
acquired a treble might, inasmuch as it
seems that the antagonistic powers are fast
drawing off from the field. Looking out to
the long and many-colored array of ghostly
domination, which stretches its lines across
plains and hills, we discern movement ; but
it is the stir of retreat : encampments are
breaking up, barriers are trampled upon,
standards are furled, the clarion of dismay is
sounded. This, this, then, is the hour for the
hosts of the Lord to snatch their weapons
and be up !"

Ma}^ we not inquire. How stands the
Church while these auspicious signals loom

104 SYSTEMATIC BENEFICENCE.

up in the distance ? What preparation has
she made, and is she now making, to go in
and possess the land from which God is driv-
ing out the enemy from his strongholds ?

Commerce has found, or will find in a few
years, her way to all the nations of the earth,
and has thus indicated the way and provided
conveyance for the missionary of the cross.
The improvements in ship-building, and the
application of steam-power to vessels, have
made the pilgrimage of years a pleasure-
journey for the summer months. The in-
vention of printing, and the improvements
made in presses in the few past years, enable
us to issue religious books with such rapid-
ity and cheapness, that it is now possible
to supply every family of the earth. God
has shown the vein in which the silver and
the gold has been hid for ages from the eyes
of those who loved him not, and poured it
into the lap of Christian nations. The
Church has not been negligent of God's
goodness; but she has not made that con-
secration which the peculiar state of the
world demands. "We have organized mis-
sionary societies, and sent out men to preach
the everlasting Gospel ; but what are this
handful of men for the millions in ignorance
of the true God ? The Bible societies have

THE BENEFITS TO THE CHURCH. 105

multiplied Bibles; but are not thousands,
even in our own land, famishing for the
bread of life ? The tract societies have scat-
tered the writings of holy men ; but how
few have seen the colporteur in his mission
of love. The Church has made an import-
ant step in progress, in acknowledging that
she is not doing enough. But why is not
greater progress made ? Because she has
not returned to the primitive mode in pro-
viding for her charities and duties. She has,
indeed, gained vision to see, written in burn-
ing words, the command to preach the Gos-
pel to all nations ; but so far, at least, has
failed to revive the only system by which
she can provide for the work.

We need men and mone3^ "We have
no doubt that men can be found when
the means are sure to be provided to send
them out and sustain them in their labors.
Let the Church give unmistakable signs that
she is in earnest, and men, wdio count not
their lives dear for the sake of the Gospel,
will be found in abundance. Wluit we need
above all things at this moment, is the adop-
tion of the Christian rule of systematic ben-
eficence by every member of tlie Church,
and tlie work of salvation would go forward.

It would increase the amount of means at

106 SYSTEMATIC BENEFICENCE.

the disposal of tlie Cliiircli, by secnring a
larger number of contributors. This wonld
lead them to more activity and interest in their
Church relations ; it would insure the pray-
ers of the members in behalf of her benevo-
lent designs, and thus lead to spirituality of
life. Unit}^ of faith is often produced by
union of effort. The amounts received by
our benevolent organizations fall far short of
what they could profitably expend. There
is scarcely a missionary station that would
not be benefited by an increase of laborers and
larger means. Many new stations would be
established where the hand of Providence
indicates good prospect of success. Bibles
could be distributed in much greater num-
bers Vvdthout giving too many to the people.
Who does not know that there is not a de-
nomination whose contributions are sufficient
to enable them to occupy all the field open-
ing before them. ISTor will the amount be
sufficient until all give, and give in liberal
proportion to their prosperity. The rule
observed would not only secure a greater
number of contributors, but more than
double the amount from those wlio now
give.

It would give a steady flow to the charities
of the Churchy and in this particular greatly

THE BENEFITS TO THE CHURCH. 107

increase her efficiency. So long as our
gatherings are from impnlse, rather than by
a settled rule taken from the Scriptures, 'we
cannot expect great success. How often do
the directors of our benevolent societies make
ap])ropriations with trembling. They find
the treasury empty; but a call comeSj so ur-
gent that it seems impossible to refuse, and
they borrow to supply the present necessity,
yet with doubts as to the probability of meet-
in 2^ the loan from the cominoj contributions.
How often, when they are making appro-
priations for the coming year, are they com-
pelled to make the sums less than the
exigencies of the Church demand. This
is a source of continual anxiety to the
directors. But all this Avould pass away
with the adoption of the Gospel system.
Let every Christian give as God requires,
and they could trust in the great Ruler of
the universe to provide the means to carry
on his work. The funds would continu-
ally flow into the Church, from all direc-
tions, and every claim would be met with
rejoicing. No system of finance adopted
to supply a national treasury would be pro-
ductive of equal advantages, for it is de-
vised by a power and wisdom that man has
never readied.

108 SYSTEMATIC BENEFICENCE.

Syste'in in heneficence would i^lace the
CJiurcli lefore the viorld in her true cliarac-
ter. The world does not — cannot — doubt tlie
correctness and superiority of the Christian
faith, and but httle fault can be found witli
her Church oro-anizations. What the world
wants is a higher life in the Church — a deep-
er consecration to the cause of religion. In
too many instances the practice is not equal
to the profession. Especially does the world
see a wide difference between the benevo-
lence taught in the Bible and that practiced
in the Church. How often has it been said,
" If you think that all men will be lost who
are not saved through a knowledge of
Christ, why do you not make greater efforts
for the cause of salvation ? Why not send
crowds of missionaries to every land ? Why
not print thousands of Bibles where you now
print dozens ? The members of the Church
certainly have abundant means." There is
some truth in the taunt, although it is not
uttered in the right spirit. Yet we are com-
pelled to confess that many claim to live for
Christ who do little or nothing for his cause.
The Bible says it is more blessed to give than
to receive, yet many seem intent to give the
smallest possible sum. How different all this
would be under the system we advocate.

THE BENEFrrS TO THE CHUECH- 109

Could every follower of Christ be seen taking
a careful inventory of liis property, and ap-
propriating all tlie proceeds not necessary
for his own wants to send the Bible to the
ignorant, food to the hungry, clothes to the
naked, the messenger of mercy to the sick
and imprisoned, there would indeed be an
argument for the divinity of the religion
of Christ invulnerable to the assaults of
men or devils. This is just the proof that
is needed above all others in this age of tlie
world.

It follows from the above, that the adop-
tion of this system would lead the Church
to a holier life. Her latent power would be
developed, and her progress evident to all
beholders. The exercise of benevolence
would lead to the growth of all those graces
and virtues which are at once the proof and
beauty of the new life. It may well be
doubted if the highest spiritual attainments
are possible without a careful cultivation of
this grace. But this would, of necessity, lead
to spiritual advancement ; for giving would
lead to praying, praying in return to self-
denial, that we might give more, having
learned the blessedness of giving. It is the
consecration of all we have, and are, and hope
to be, to the cause of Christ that brings us into
8

110 SYSTEMATIC BENEFICENCE.

the most intimate covenant relations with
him, and places us under his care and keeping.
Would it not promote our communion with
God, to so admit him into all our worldly
affairs as to consult him in all we do ?
Would it not have a holy, tranquilizing
effect on our souls, to be assured that we
were doing his will ? We should certainly
thus find ourselves living in a purer at-
mosphere.

The Church would be enabled to enter
every avenue of usefulness, and make her
presence felt in all grades of society. There
is no human being who is not worthy the
effort to save him. Yet how many is the
Church, in her seeming poverty, compelled
to pass by. There is yet a great work for
Christianity, upon which she entered, as it
were, but yesterday. We mean a work
among the streets and alleys, in the hovels
and cellars. She needs stout-hearted divers,
to go down into the depths of crime and pol-
lution and bring up precious immortal souls.
Such a work is impossible as long as we
move along in our present style. The ele-
ments of piety are among us, but they are
comparatively inactive. How shall they be
put in operation? You say. By the out-
pouring of the Holy Ghost. But may we ex-

THE BENEFITS TO THE CHUIiCII. Ill

pect this baptism before we prepare the way ?
" Bring ye all the tithes into the store-house,
that there may be meat in my house, and
prove me now lierewith, saith the Lord of
hosts, if I will not open you the windows of
heaven, and pour you out a blessing; that
there shall not be room enough to receive
it." Do not spiritualize this passage, as
the custom is, so as to take away its force.
It means just what it says. There have
been withholden from God his just and es-
tablished claims upon our temporal prosperi-
ty, and when we return in sincerity of heart
to the Gospel measure and manner of giving,
we may expect a revival of his work that
will shake the earth.

It has been the reproach hurled at us by in-
fidelity for these many years, that the Church
has not proper sympathy with the lower
classes — that we have not paid them the
attention that they may lawfully claim from
a body whose example is the Saviour of men.
True, indeed, they do not cast the reproach
at us because they are more benevolent at
heart, but it is the most forcible argument
they can wield. This reproach may be done
away. Let the membership provide the
means, by an adoption of tliis system, and it
will be seen that the Church is true to the

112 SYSTEMATIC BENEFICENCE.

mission given her. The devoted labors of
her Head will be reproduced in every street,
and alley, and lane, and highway. The poor
and unfortunate will have the Gospel preach-
ed to them, and their dwellings be filled
with songs of praise instead of bacchanalian
revels and blasphemies. The labors already
given in this direction have been abund-
antly blessed of God. They come within
the province of those engaged in saving
souls.

This system, we candidly believe, would
greatly aid the Church in preparing for that
final contest w^itli infidelity and heathenism
which lies in her pathway in the subjuga-
tion of this world to Christ. That a period
of enlarged liberality shall come, ushering
in the glorious triumph of the Saviour's
kingdom, our Bibles plainly tell us. 'No
form of covetousness will be found in the
latter-day glory. The wealth of the world
is yet to be brought and laid upon the altar
of the Church, for men will learn that its
best use is in the service of God. We hope
our eyes may see the day when every one will
give, not what he can conveniently spare, but
all that can be devoted to this purpose by strict
economy and self-denial. " Then shall the
offerings of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant

THE BENEFITS TO THE CHURCH. 113

unto the Lord, as in the days of old, and as in
the former years." Hear the word of proph-
ecy. "The merchandise of Tyre shall be
holiness to the Lord ; it shall not be treasured
nor laid up." " Surely the isles shall wait for
me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring
thy sons from far, their silver and their gold
with them, unto the name of the Lord thy
God."

114 SYSTEMATIC BENEFICENCE.

CHAPTER 711.

THE PEKSONAL BENEFITS TO BE DERIVED FKOM
THE ADOPTION OF THE CHRISTIAN LAW OP
SYSTEMATIC BENEFICENCE.

Tins view of the subject has been frequently
remarked upon in the body of the essay, and
presupposed in the whole exposition and
argument. Yet it may be considered par-
ticularly, in relation to its temporal as well
as spiritual advantages. God has so inter-
woven command and reward, duty and bless-
ing, that it will not be improper to inquire
what benefit may be personally gained by
adopting this system as our guide in mat-
ters relating to property and income.

The adoption of this system would lead to
the highest degree of temporal prosperity.
This statement has already been noticed as
a well-defined doctrine of the Bible. Giving
to charitable and religious objects does not
cause ns to lack the necessaries of life, for
God has promised to repay with his own
bountiful hand. Many have continued poor
all their days, because they failed to make a
right use of the property committed to their

PERSONAL BENEFrrS. 115

care — appropriating to themselves the por-
tion belonging to God. If we have been
unfaithful in comparative poverty, how can
w^e expect to have riches intrusted to us?
We complain that we have not been prosper-
ed as others. Has it not been because we
were unfaithful stewards ?

This system develops habits of economy
cmd industry in the husiness and laboring
mam.. When we engage in any enterprise,
our success depends greatly upon the degree
in which it can concentrate all our energies.
The whole soul cannot be interested without
we have before us a lofty purpose — an aim
worthy our immortal natures. Then we can
command industry, for it is a delight ; we
can devise a practical system, for the desire
of present success yields to the grander pur-
pose of a final triumph ; we can practice
economy, for the end to be accomplished is
worthy the keenest self-denial. What is the
end of your business now ? To gather wealth
to gratify your bodily desires, to have a name
among the influential, or, it may be, simply
because it has been the habit of your life.
You have been often compelled to exclaim.
It is a hard lot, and sigh for a relief from it.
Why ? Because a suspicion crosses your mind
that the labor will not be recompensed by

116 SYSTEMATIC BENEFICENCE.

the end obtained. But how different would
be your feelings had you the assurance that
your daily labor was for God, and recorded
on high. The knowledge that you were aid-
ing by your liberality to rescue a world from
sin would make toil sweet. It would enlarge
your soul. You would find it expanding
your faculties, concentrating your powers,
directing your energies, and leading to cer-
tain success. In the midst of earth's toil,
how sweet would be the anticipation of that
rest which remains for God's people. You
would appreciate the truth of the apostle's
saying : '' For me to live is Christ, to die is
gain."

Systematic heneficence would give you char-
acter in the business loorld. There is no
greater error than that which underlies the
often insinuated objection against religion,
that the effort to combine religion and busi-
ness is fatal to the latter. If it were required
to substantiate such an atheistic sentiment
by an appeal to facts, its falsity would be
readily detected and exposed. If men have
confidence in your religious profession, they
will pay due deference to it ; and if they
have confidence in your business capacity,
they will select you to transact their business
in preference to others, — that is, if they wish

PERSONAL BENEFITS. 117

it done honestly. They have more confidence
in that man who does all things for the glory
of God than in the one who has no other end
in view than his own emolument. In no
other manner canyon so successfully convince
men of your Christian character, as by a
practical and continual acknowledgment of
God in your business. It is a phase of Chris-
tianity which will gain their entire confi-
dence. Suppose the employer of a day-
laborer knew that a portion of his well-earn-
ed remuneration was each day or week set
apart for charitable and religious uses, would
it induce the employer, even if an Infidel or
Atheist, to reduce his w^ages ? Would it not
rather waken conviction in his heart that
religion was a reality.

If the principles and practice of benefi-
cence, as taught in the Bible, were made as
much a part of Christian practice as prayer,
we have no doubt there would be such a
fiow of wealth to the Church as would as-
tonish the world. The fact that prosperity
attends beneficence has been so much disre-
garded that it has almost ceased to be a
matter of faith, but this does not disprove its
truth. Look about you, and single out the
man, if you can, who has practiced a liberal
and intelligent distribution of his means in

118 SYSTEMATIC EENEFIOENOE.

charity, and show it to have been a disad-
vantage to him. Take the testimony of those
who have done so ; does it not all tend to
establish the truth of God's word in this
respect? Let it not be condemned till you
have made the trial yourself. Put it to the
test which the Saviour authorized: "If any
man will do his will, he shall know of the doc-
trine, v/hether it be of God or whether I
speak of myself."

But these are vimor advantages in com-
parison with the great end which we would
keep in view. Your growth in grace de-
pends upon the adoption of systematic benef-
icence. Would you advance steadily as a
Christian? unite giving to praying, and your
desire will not fail of gratification. "Deal
t\\j bread to the hungry; bring the poor that
are cast out to thy house; when thou seest
the poor naked cover him. . . Then shall thy
light break forth as the morning, and thy
health shall spring forth speedily : and thy
righteousness shall go before thee ; the glory
of the Lord shall be thy rere-ward. Then
shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer;
thou shalt cry, and he shall say. Here I am."

The highest possible happiness to be ob-
tained in this world, is to be assured that we
are accepted of God through Christ, and that

PERSONAL BENEFITS. 119

we are cooperating with our Master in saving
souls. "When we know that we are employ-
ed in this service, laying up in store a g*ood
foundation against the time to come, we can
look to the future without fear. There have
been many persons who, as they looked upon
the perils of trade, have come to the conclu-
sion, for a time, that great progress in the
divine life was not possible to those engaged
in ordinary traffic. This was at one time
the opinion of Normand Smith, and he dis-
engaged himself from business ; but a bet-
ter study of the Scriptures taught him that
his business could be conducted in the
fear of God. He adopted a noble scheme
of beneficence, allowing it to keep pace
with his business, and the result was not
only an intimate communion with God,
but unparalleled prosperity in temporal
things. One who has practically proven this
says, "This system has been of great advan-
tage to me, enabling me to feel that my life
is directly employed for God. It has tended
to increase my faith, and led me to look for-
ward with greater joy toward my heavenly
home. It has afforded me great happiness
in enabling me to portion out the Lord's
money, and has enlisted my mind more in
the progress of Christ's cause. Happy priv-

120 SYSTEMATIC BENEFICENCE.

ilege, which the humblest may enjoy, of
thus associating the common labors of life
with the grateful service of the Saviour, and
making that which naturally leads the heart
from God, subserve the highest spiritual
good."

The angel said to Cornelius, " Thy prayers
and thy alms are come up for a memorial
before God." The conjunction of praying
and giving has ever been a marked charac-
teristic of the most eminent servants of
Christ. How could it be otherwise? Nor
must it be overlooked, that the concurrent
testimony of all those who have devised
liberal plans of giving, establishes the fact of
a decided growth in grace. Have you seen
others outstrip you in the Gospel race while
you seemed to be making an effort equal to
theirs ? Examine carefully into it, and see
if their constant giving will not solve the
problem.

CONCLUSION.

We have now examined, according to the
plan proposed at the beginning, the teach-
ings of the Bible in relation to the right use
of property, and urged upon you the accept-
ance of the Bible system ; we shall be happy
indeed if we have convinced you that sys-

CONCLrSION. 121

tematic beneficence is plainly taught m the
Scriptures, and still more happy if you have
consented, in the fear of God, to adopt the
system set forth.

The whole argument from the Bible is
comprised in the following propositions : — •

1. Property is the gift of God ; not essen-
tial to secure the favor of God or worldly
happiness, but placed in our hands as stew-
ards, to be used for his glory, as a powerful
instrument in promoting the temporal and
spiritual advantage of mankind.

2. Beneficence has been commanded, not
only to carry out the great scheme of Chris-
tianizing the world, and supplying the wants
of the poor and unfortunate, but also as a
healthy and necessary exercise and discipline
for the religious affections, and essential to
the highest development of the spiritual life.

3. To give practical efiiciency and secure
perpetuity to these designs, God has ar-
ranged and commanded them in a simple
and comprehensive system.

4. This system obligates every Christian
to provide a charitable fund, derived from
free-will off'ering, set apart at stated times,
in proportion as God has given prosperity,
that it may meet all proper calls for charity
or benevolence.

122 SYSTEMATIC BENEFICENCE.

In addition to this argument, drawn di-
rectly from the Bible, we have considered
that the adoption of this system would —

1. Benefit the Christian Churchy in sup-
plying means to meet her demands for the
evangelization of the world, and permitting
her to accomplish the benevolent designs for
which she was established.

2. Benefit the memhers of the Church jpe/}'-
sonally in providing an antidote to covetous-
ness, and securing for them the largest tem-
poral and spiritual prosperity.

If these propositions and arguments are
well founded, they deserve your careful con-
sideration and cheerful acquiescence. But
how different is this system from the general
practice of the Church . And we may remark
also, how delinquent are Christians in the
neglect of such a benevolence as the w^ord of
God warrants and commands. But we believe
a brighter day is dawning upon the Church ;
that she is about to return to the practice of
that beneficence which was once a part of
her glory. If such a reform is effected,
then may the best hopes of her sons and
daughters be realized. The revival of the
missionary spirit has quickened her pulsa-
tions ; it needs but the revival of systematic
beneficence to send the blood to the far-

CONCLUSION. 123

thest extremities. God hasten the clay ! Is
not this the response of every Christian
heart? The advent of this period depends
to some extent upon your individual efforts.
A dopt the system yourself. Recommend it
to your friends and brethren in the Church.
Test its heavenly virtues, and then spread
abroad its praises. Do you hesitate to adopt
so plain a rule — one that would so benefit
the Church and yourself? Search your
heart, and see if there is not remaining a
portion of covetousness. Remember ivho
commands it — whose name it would glorify.
Sit down, tlien, without delay, and make
a careful and conscientious computation of
the sums necessary to support and educate
your family in a comfortable but economical
manner; add to this the necessary increase
that should be made to your capital, for
economical business purposes, and then
sacredly devote the remainder to purposes
of benevolence. Determine that you will
not let your capital exceed a specified sum,
which should not be more than a comfort-
able provision for your family in case of
your decease. As your capital increases,
give annually a larger per cent, of its in-
crease ; and when it has reached the sum
determined upon, give away all your in-

124 SYSTEMATIC BENEFICENCE.

crease, except what is actually necessary for
the expenses of your family. This may cost
great self-denial at first ; but soon the bless-
edness of giving, expelling the last remains
of covetousness from the heart, will yield a
happiness beyond any other disposition you
could make of your property.

THE END.

Princeton Theological Semina^^ Ubraries

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